


Suspicious fight scene

by toots (TooMany0TPs)



Series: Suspicious....are the authers trying to kill us. [1]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Character Death, F/F, Grounder peeps, Metamorphosis, Torture, and then there's Lexa, big smol beans, but good death, cuz like evil person, smol beans, soul connection - Freeform, who's a bean in general
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-12
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-05-06 09:19:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 72,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5411405
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TooMany0TPs/pseuds/toots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke spots Lexa and for some reason can't decide on any one emotion. Lexa lets her do whatever and Octavia and Indra watch on...along with basically the whole grounder army. oh and no spoilers or anything, but it is, Clarke 'absorbs' a spirit and basically yes. OH AND SHE HAS KIDDIE WINKS.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Now, when I'm talking about the suspicious fight scene I think we can all agree that it's either Lexa or Octavia Clarke's grabbed hold of. This is how I think it should go if it's Lexa.
> 
> Oh and just bacause I have no idea how to speak in trigedasleng, I'm just going to put it in bold.

 Running through the woods trying to keep up with the mass amount of grounders moving in the direction they are, was not on CLarkes list of priorities. However that changed when she spotted Lexa, Octavia and Indra at the head of it - of course - closely followed by Bellamy and her mum. That's a weird sight if ever she saw one.

 So thinking what the hell, she pegged it through the forest being as quiet as possible.

 She'd learnt how to hunt quietly and using that knowledge of how and where to place a foot she chased them, for at least half an hour until they promptly stopped with Lexa looking around as if she'd heard or seen something.

 Dammit, she thought she was silent. - Clarke quickly ducks behind a tree just as Lexa's line of sight drags towards where she was stood.

 Clarke was on one side of the river and the others were all on the left. The river contained various aquatic animals that could easily rip a human apart so it was virtually impossible to cross, especially if you're from the sky, then it's highly unlikely that anyone had learnt to swim in the first place. Learning takes time and patience which not many people these days had.

 Clarke stood stock still, heart pounding and breathing rapid, hoping to the heavens it wasn't her that had stopped the Heda.

 " **Show yourself!"** Quiet, Clarke wasn't going to risk being caught after all this, if the worst comes to the absolute worst she's just going to wing it and either jump the commander or tun in the opposite direction.

 She'd died her hair red in hope she was less likely to be recognised. Yeah it might bring attention to her but it makes her look like a completely different person anyway. She'd also scattered a few braids and plaits through her hair and had smeared war paint under her eyes just incase.

 Clarke heard the mass amount of bodies start to move and waited until the five at the front had appeared on the other side of the tree trunk, once again progressing to wherever it was they were progressing to.

 They'd made it another mile and a half before the Heda once again stopped and watched the forest absolutely certain they were being followed.

 She was successful in seeing the tail end of bright red hair flutter to a stop behind a tree and seeing as they'd stopped at one of the more narrow parts of the river she started to wade through the water until she was three quarters of the way there. Her army had followed her to about half way and stopped when the Heda held a hand up.

 " **Show yourself!"** She yelled again but still, no reply. So in order to find out who was daring to tail them she waded the rest of the way and up onto the bank a few metres away from the tree she'd seen the hair stop behind.

 " **I know you are here. I know where you're hiding. Do you think it wise to tail me and my army?"** The Heda drew her sword with baited breath waiting for the intruder to do something, anything.

 Then, a boot appears and slowly, _very slowly_ so does the rest of the person.

  Clarke had had enough of hiding, of running. She's only done those two things for almost all of her life apart from the Mountain. _The mountain how I've wanted to stop those poor people from suffering to redo everything just to help those innocents._

 So she'd pulled the hood of her coat as far over her head as possible and stepped round the trunk keeping her head low and as menacing as possible.

 " **You will reveal your face if you wish to live."** Lexa was fed up with this girl's behaviour, she just wanted to get to the Ice-nation's armada before they wreck havoc on everyone and thing.

  Clarke lifts her head hesitantly opting on just enough to see the Commanders thighs.

 " **That won't do stranger, show me who is brave enough to follow?"** Clarke sighs and raises her hands to her hood and slowly pulls the garment back. She comes face to face with the Heda impassive as ever and just waits, wanting to see what she'll do.

 "Klark? Klark, it has been too long." Clarke's shocked. Shocked at how calm she can be, she's shocked at the mutuality of the comment, shocked at the slight acknowledgement from someone she saw as a future love, as a partner in crime, as a friend.

 Something clicks in Clarke and she lunges toward the Commander. She easily steps backwards back into the river and calmly lets Clarke try and attack her.

 This infuriates Clarke and she lunges again only to miss from the Heda stepping aside causing her to stumble a little in the slightly deeper water. She's being weighed down by her sodden coat and decides to shed it keeping her other layers on because it was so cold.

 "That's all you have to say? After all these months, I cared for you, trusted you, kissed you. Then you betray me and 'oh everything's all placid now'. hH look at me, the Trikru Heda. **Oh look at me I'm the Trikru leader WHO'S A FUCKING IDIOTIC-PSYCHOTIC-TURNCOAT!"** Clarke throws punches at the girl stood before her with each of the insults. Tears are rolling freely now and she stops for a second to aggressively wipe them away to see but it makes it worse. She'd managed to spill into Trigedasleng without intention, having taken the courtesy to learn in all her spare time.

 The Heda just stands there blocking and deflecting deciding to let Clarke at her, after all it was her to cause this behaviour in the perfect being that is Clarke. She hears hurried splashes from behind her and puts a hand up to stop them from advancing too far.

 However what she didn't expect was for a body to slam into her from the left, forcing her to fall into the river with the writhing body on top holding her down.

 She's under for a good 30 seconds without having taken a breath in preparation and slowly sees things starting to darken. Her body loosens and she's easier to hold under.

 Her hands were gripped tight around Clarke's, which were clutching to her coat's collar and her legs wrapped round her waist.

 Then before she could fully pass out from lack of oxygen she's pulled up and out of the water and heaved over a strong shoulder. She feels Clarke walk a few feet before being dropped carefully onto the ground of the river bank. They were side on to the army who were watching on, swords drawn and weary about what the Heda will do.

 Clarke was sat atop her waist and was peering down at her with tears streaming down her face still, dripping onto Lexa's cheeks. "I loved you." Clarke whispers and lets out a heaving sob and brings a hand to her face whilst sitting up to wipe away a migre amount of tears.

 " **I still do"** Lexa whispers back and feels the body above her go rigid. She stroked a hand over Clarke's cheek and smiles only enough for Clarke to see it and repeats what she'd just said.

 "It took me so long, so _long_ , to come to terms with your betrayal. It took me months and even more to at least stop _crying_ myself to sleep over all those innocent lives lost to my hand in that fucking mountain. _Months_ Lexa." Her tears had stopped pouring but she still heaved once or twice from crying and a quiet sob would escape as well.

 When she said the Heda's name everything changed. Lexa's attitude, the air, the water, their surroundings, even Lexa's face changed. It became more soft and smooth, the stress lines fading and the hard set of her jaw loosened. Her smile grew a little and her eyebrows slanted.

 "It takes me just as long to forgive, but never forget..." Lexa draws herself closer to Clarke, enough so that Clarke was now sat on her thighs and Lexa was now trusting Clarke enough to show weakness through holding her hips and letting her face relax. She leans closer to Clarke's ear before whispering "...and never stop loving." That was it for Clarke, the bullet in the gun.

 She grabbed Lexa's face and smashed their lips together, not caring about the world's reaction or the clashing of their teeth. It was just them, just them and their own little universe where nothing mattered or had to happen.

 Clarke broke away first, panting from the exertion of the kiss and leaned their foreheads together. " **All the scenarios of meeting you again didn't involve this. I can't let you go again."**

 **"I won't go again."** Lexa used as much sincerity as she could to ease the once blonde on top of her. It must have worked because the next thing she knew, warm firm arms were wrapped round her neck and a face was pressed against her warm wet neck. " **However I'll have to for now, I'm still sodden from the river water"** She felt the girl on top of her giggle and just press closer, letting a lip drag up her neck and to her ear.

 "I need to as well." Clarke tried to convey as much seduction into her tone as possible.

 "Mmmmhhh, I'll make sure we stop soon then." A shiver went up Clarke's spine as the Commander used Goneslang.

 A big uncharacteristic grin spread across Lexa's face and it's the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. So much so, that even through the drying tears Clarke felt herself smile in response.

 "Once you two have stopped frolicking about in the water, Heda, I would like to speak with Clarke and you need to tell your grounders to back off." That familiar voice startled Clarke, having forgotten about their audience and ran back behind the tree in her panic.

 The Heda had her placid mask back on and turned to her grounders who were starting to swarm the two Skikru, some even trying to get to Octavia, but she and Bellamy were having non of it. "EM PLENI" The slight chant that had been emanating from the army stopped abruptly and all faced their Commander.

  "Klark, come. Please accompany me and my army to camp." Lexa appears around the trunk and offers a very enticing hand for Clarke to grab...so she does. Opting for the forgive and not the revenge, the Heda did it for her people much like how the blonde would have done it herself having given the chance.


	2. Disrespect and disbeleif.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naughty, naughty people.

 Lexa had allowed Clarke to sleep in Lexa's tent and her bed, when they eventually returned to the grounder camp from the previous three day scout. She was utterly grateful. After all, she has been wandering around for so long that she'd grown lonely and had forgotten what it was like to have a body so close to hers. She didn't however push her luck and slept on one side of the bed to the Heda, putting boundaries up was a good thing, it gave her the chance to get used to human contact again.

 That was where she currently was, curled up on one side of the bed late into the morning, the Commander had had to get up and go about her daily business leaving Clarke to think and brood over her feelings, her emotions. Lexa had said she could sleep closer to her, even though they'd kissed she still wasn't going to let herself fall into the assumption that the Heda would allow her to do it constantly, probably ending up pushing the stoic leader away instead.

 She had been with the Commander and her grounders for almost four days now and she was still tired from running about, trying to keep herself alive and fed. Her body had seemed to shut down now that she was surrounded by warmth and familiarity. It was now more like Clarke's home than any other place she'd stayed in.

 She was disturbed from her light slumber when she heard the tent flap open and close, thinking it was Lexa she sighed a hi and balled her hands into the furs. The soft footfalls grew closer and that sparked suspicion in the blonde, the Heda didn't have footfalls, and she normally announced her entrance by saying " **I have returned Klark.** " Her suspicion further grew when she heard a knife or dagger, something of the sort, being drawn and the footfalls got ever closer to Lexa's sleeping quarters.  

 Before she could run, a hand clamped it's way over her mouth and her arms were roughly drawn back behind her back, her shoulders being held at a painful angle. She got a glimpse of her captors before being blindfolded and gagged by fowl smelling material. She was punched in the eye and then again on her temple, effectively knocking her out.

 She woke again to the cool air and being stood against a large tree trunk. Her arms were tied above her head and the man a good foot taller than her stepped back admiring his handwork. When he did step back Clarke grabbed a glance to the small group of grounders watching her from not so far away. Around thirty or so grounders were stood there watching on with hate blazing in their eyes.

 She spotted a girl no older than herself wielding a serrated dagger and staring at her almost mockingly.

 The blonde looked back to the grounder that still stood relatively close to her and waited for him to speak. " **Blood must have blood. You will have to do in replacement of the boy for the eighteen innocents**." He drew his own sword and walked forward a pace. " **Cut, burn, avox, de-handed, de-footed and burnt at the stake**." He gets close to Clarke bringing the sword to her upper arm and slowly drawing the blade across her flesh causing Clarke to grind her teeth and release a hot breath. She wasn't about to let this man, these people hear her scream. Her screams would only encourage them anyway.

 A woman, shorter but older than the previous man stepped up to her this time and lifted her shirt cutting diagonally across her abdomen from the right. This was more painful than the one issued to her arm but she only let a small just audible whimper escape, staring into her soon to be executioners eyes. She was too proud and stubborn to show any other emotion to these barbarians.

 The grounders carried on like this, dragging knifes, daggers and swords agonizingly slowly across her reddening flesh. They started crossing the cuts and cutting closer to previous serrations making her torture be dragged out. The pain eventually numbed to a dull throb and the only intense pain she felt was when one of the grounders cut deep into her navel eliciting a groan.

 Her shirt had long since been discarded to one side, and the torture had been going for what felt like days but could only be a few hours. The sun had started to set and the stars slowly came out to play. They looked to be mocking Clarke, they used to be home, used to be comfort but now they've turned red and their brightness had subsided. They were slowly fading, especially the one she was constantly drawn to. One that stood out amongst the others. It held a brightness that the others couldn't match and it's light rays were multicoloured reaching out to other stars duller than others and seemingly making them brighter. 

 A slight reprieve came when the same girl no older than herself came back again and sliced along her collarbone, they stared at each other while she did it, but then the girl stopped in the centre of her chest and twisted the knife round until a large hole appeared. The pain from that did cause Clarke to scream only momentarily but enough to draw a grin from the girl.

 The grounders had made camp a few feet away from Clarke and it was around an hour later that she was disturbed from the bending of her eyelids. She had seen the poker shoved into the fire. Had seen the grounder that looked her way once he'd shoved it into the burning embers. He had smirked and turned to laugh with a few others before eating. Clarke's stomach growled at the sight and smell of food so she looked away, content on ignoring the pain and looking back up to the stars.

 The grounders hadn't touched her thighs yet, but it was only a matter of time. That time came when they had finished chatting and eating and stood back up to swarm Clarke yet again. Two of the more bulky men forced her arms down and behind her back, forcing a pained moan from the Blonde from the sudden movement and then pushed back against the pole, she didn't have any energy left to struggle.

 They had brought the red hot poker with them, smouldering a bright white from the heat. A man smaller than herself tore her bra away and sliced down the length of one trouser leg. Thy brought the poker to the nape of her thigh, the pain was slow to appear but when it did it was so much more painful than the serrations littering her torso. They held the poker there until her vision started to blur and her shoulders slumped forward. Stopping before she completely passed out.

 The girl came back again and cut into her other thigh, a long lingering sting pulsing down the side of her thigh where the blade had sliced. Clarke was sure she would pass out soon if they carried on at this rate.

 But before she could fully pass out, each time they'd take the brand away just before she'd fall unconscious timing it perfectly so each burn could linger and smoulder into her skin. They had placed burns almost everywhere now and by this time a light haze appeared on the horizon indicating the beginning of a new day.

 As the sky turned magnificent reds, oranges and blues, the hues blended together creating a picture perfect moment, something in Clarke was urging her to paint it. One last painting, but she couldn't because her arms were tied and the group wouldn't take mercy on her.

 Clarke was no longer able to hold her head up, to look into the eyes of those who marked her. Instead she had to look down at her burnt and lacerated body, seeing the blood pooling at her bare feet and her trousers hanging on by the barest of threads. She managed to raise her head enough again to see that same girl's feet come towards her.

 Her face came into view and a grin was pinned to her cheeks as she brought her dagger to Clarke's right nipple.

 She'd managed to embed the blade edge into the areola before hoof falls were audible in the distance. The pain from the cut hurt so much she screamed louder than any other time and she didn't stop until the dagger fell away. and a loud incoherent shout rattled through Clarke's mind. It was familiar but her pain clogged mind prevented her from registering who's voice it was.

 Distant sounds of fighting and metal on metal started around her and then she heard it. Clearer than any shouts or groans from the battle raging around her. A growl, deep and guttural came from straight infront of Clarke. She summoned as much energy she had left to lift her head and prop it against the post. A great brown bear emerged from the forest’s depths. Large paws the size of truck wheels and teeth the size of daggers. A large black nose and beady black eyes staring straight at Clarke.

 She could see the once writhing bodies stood stock still as it approached Clarke, the Earth shuddering with each footfall and big puffs of condensed air exiting it's nostrils. It came right up to Clarke stopping mere inches away, it's head dipped down enough to sniff at Clarke. Sniff at her clothes, hair and wounds.

 Eventually it leaned down enough to rub it's nose into one of the many cuts scattered on her body earning it a loud groan and her body to bow away from the cool wet surface. The nose came up to Clarke's forehead and spread her blood across her anaemic skin. It drew back, standing on it's hunches an almighty roar exiting it before turning away and landing back on all four paws. The Earth shook violently and large ditches where it's paws had landed remained as the great beast walked away again.

 Silence ensued after until Clarke heard that voice again, it was closer and softer than before but she still couldn't comprehend who's it was. The person came into view and Clarke started to cry from the relief of seeing her, seeing Lexa. A soft, worried expression settled over the Commander's face and Clarke could barely keep her eyes open as her bindings were cut and Clarke stumbled forward, collapsing into awaiting arms, she then proceeded to lift the blonde, and allowed the blonde to curl into the Heda's warmth finally being able to let everything go. All of it was too much and her tears came down heavier however they were silent sobs due to the extensive screaming she'd done before.

 Clarke couldn't keep her eyes open any longer when Lexa had mounted her horse behind her, after having put Clarke up there first held in place by a few others so that she wouldn't slide back off. The Heda's warmth surrounded her as a blanket was wrapped round her frail body and her back pressed against Lexa's warm front.

 " **You are safe now, sleep, let your slumber come you have done well Skai princess**." The nickname surprised Clarke at first but felt no need to analyse it too much after all, she was a second away from falling asleep, so she did. Sleeping in the Commander's strong arms encircling her waist and the gentle rocking of the horse's walk.

***

 "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO HER?" Lexa had dismounted not too far away from camp Jaha's gate and quickly jogged the rest to reach it. The gates had immediately opened upon seeing the lifeless body held by Lexa, however only allowed Lexa to enter.

 She had been swamped by the Sky people and had been shoved towards the medical bay, which is where she was currently being interrogated as the girl in her arms was taken into a separate room. It differed to the previous clinical rooms by the fact that a large window lined one wall, multiple tables, tools and equipment lined another, one was completely bare and the other had the door she'd just entered through to find Abby and another stood there hunched over what seemed to be a list.

 She kept her placid mask on, even though internally she was dying, if Clarke didn't survive then what would happen. Her heart had gone out to the Blonde before the mountain, before the betrayal, before they met again. She had known before any of that, she was drawn to the girl, she couldn't help it, the dominance and stubbornness was what had attracted the brunette in the first place and she'd be dammed if someone said other wise.

 "Abby, calm down. Start healing her and I shall answer." She calmly sat down in the nearest chair watching Abby and her every move, not trusting the blonde's mother to do anything. She had set about injecting Clarke with a cocktail of drugs and had the other constantly monitoring her heart rate. Lexa eventually decided to start from the morning she discovered Clarke to be gone once Abby had actually started stitching up her numerous wounds.

 "Two days ago I went to a battle plan, to see what could be done about a small group of delinquents. They had formed after I had returned, and didn't approve of my choice. They thought the Trikru and Skaikru shouldn't mix and believed me kissing your daughter was an abomination. They had started to plan kidnapping Clarke so that it perfectly matched up to when I left my tent. She was still tiresome from being left to fend for herself during our harsh winters. They had taken her to a small clearing a half days ride away and had then gone on to torture her. They blamed their actions on the boy's killing spree, and tortured her hour upon hour, constantly and consistently for the next day. Me and my warriors managed to get there just as one girl was about to cut her nipple off." Lexa squirmed ever so slightly at the scream she heard, it was blood curdling and her own body had twinged itself, she couldn't imagine the pain the blonde had gone through but that was the cutting point for Lexa. It pushed her into a wild state and she killed nearly all of the delinquent grounders before her warriors could even enter the clearing. They had watched on in pride at their leader's courage and power.

 "Then the Ursa came and all went silent as it paced towards Clarke, it left it's mark to signify Clarke as a spirit holder and left." She points to the bloodied mark on her forehead. "That's the mark it left, you are to not touch that.; no-one is, only Clarke may wipe it off if she does so desire." Abby had managed to stitch up almost all of Clarke's lacerations and had the large gawping line down her right thigh and a smaller burn that had covered a trice time cut criss cross left to put sutures in.

 Lexa stood, walking to the doctors side observing her actions. If the woman was intimidated by Lexa then she didn't show it, however the other's hands became slightly wobbly and he struggled to keep Clarke's head in place. The misfits had left her head, hands and feet alone and the peace that had washed over the blonde's face was too overwhelming for Lexa to stand idly by. So she dismissed the other and held Clarke's head still herself, occasionally swiping her thumb over a cherub cheek and letting a slight lilt to the corners of her mouth every time the blonde hummed in recognition of Lexa's touch.

 Abby had finished her sutures and had stopped momentarily tidying up to watch the interaction for a few short seconds. Yes, Lexa's definitely the one. She eventually cleared her throat drawing the attention of the Commander back to her.

 "I will transfer her to the medical bay in a moment, I would not advise you pick her up this time." This time a smile did curve Lexa's lips but only momentarily before her need to be stoic barged it away.

 "Thank you Abby." They waited for the sky people to lift Clarke from the bed on a board and took her through the door and into the bay, all the while being intensely glared at by Lexa and a few harsh words here and there threatening anyone with their life if Clarke were to be hurt.

 The Heda had Octavia come and sit with her. Talking to her whilst waiting for the Blonde to awaken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, that chapter went a bit wrong. Ha so I've just deleted it and am going to try to reincorporate it in a different way. Sorry. :)


	3. Unexpected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of nattering. Intimate Clexa moment and the Ursa comes out to play a little.

 An insight, that's what it was. It was the Ursa showing her what can or might happen. It is different to the Heda's spirit, the Heda tells the future of what will happen. But this dream Clarke had the moment she dropped off to sleep was of war, bloody and brutal, not in the mountain but in the Ice desert. warriors clad in light blue and grey coloured rags and scarf’s casually slung here, there and everywhere. However Clarke isn't there, but she is. It shows of a great blonde bear with blue eyes and eccentric black markings covering the hunches and upper arms of the bear, she feels a pull towards it like she's tied to it from her chest. It turns to who must be the leader and snarls before her insight's abruptly halted. A light, firm voice draws her out of the dream.

 Clarke groans from the slight shaking she can feel, causing her sutures to burn from the sudden movement. When she just about manages to open her eyes to stare down who dares waken her, but things are still blurry from sleep or rather lack of. She groans again and blinks to rid her eyes of the lull of sleep.

 "What?" Her voice is gravelly and torn from her screams that had previously ripped through her throat. She hadn't screamed much but when she did the cuts and burns ensued on her were way more painful than others.

 "Klark, you must awaken," Lexa, Clarke instantly started moving away from the woman however found she didn't have the strength to do so, mostly to the fact that she had not had much sleep; that's what Clarke keeps telling herself anyway.

 Not wanting to appear weak she sits up with a light puff of air from the immense pain now being thoroughly inflicted on her muscles but carries on to stand up anyway.

 Having finally blinked away the last few hazy traces of sleep she looks at the Heda, having forgotten she was sat in the chair on the far side of the room, keeping watch. Although Clarke was initially uncomfortable with the Heda's proposition she eventually grew too tired to care.

 "What do you want Heda?" Clarke stands rigid but firm, defiantly. She glares at the Commander, feeling the Ursa rise to Clarke's anger.

 "You were dreaming, of what I do not know, but it was violent and you needed to be awoken." Lexa's stoic expression expresses nothing although her eyes beg to differ. If it wasn't Clarke witnessing this, no-one else would have noticed the almost sorrowful presence. But then again it may just be her mind wandering off and imagining things. Her mother once said wishful thinking doesn't get you anywhere.

 "I also needed to wake you because it is time for you to ride. However if you do not wish to ride I will ride for you." With that the Heda turns around and swiftly exits. Clarke looks around the room, it was a room in a wing of the arch's medical bay. Metal was everywhere with minimal furniture consisting of a wooden chair, the small white bed she had lain on, which is now dotted with small patches of blood, and a metal table with a pair of scissors, tape and items of clothing.

 The clothing must have been placed there for Clarke, because they were dark blues and black and the trousers were almost exactly the same as her previous pair but clean and unscathed. Clarke dressed into the new change of clothes still not bothering to wipe the Ursa's mark off of her forehead, it had started to turn a light brown but was still a noticeable maroon.

 Clarke exited the room as well wanting to get out as quickly as possible, she aimed for the front exit and all the while mindlessly walking through the quiet corridors surprised by the once bustling corridors. If she was lucky, or rather unlucky, one or two people would walk by in awe and shock. She'd try to interact but they'd just lower their heads and carry on panicked.

 She eventually got to the front entrance and found Lexa had been waiting there talking with Nyko and Octavia. When Clarke finally got to the small group all heads had turned to her in the Ark's entrance area. About seventy eight or so were there.

 The whole front space had gone silent and it had drawn Abby from her abode, she quickly spotted Clarke looking around the yard at all the onlookers and hurried towards her baby. Her posture was stiff and she was physically worn out, from the lack of sleep and the torture that had proceeded the previous day.

 "Clarke, why are you up now? You need sleep." Abby goes to reach for Clarke, but her hand is grabbed by Lexa who then continues to stare down Clarke's mum. She eventually retracts her hand and steps a little closer instead.

 "One must not simply touch the Ursa. The Ursa may only be touched three days after being chosen, with the exception of wounds."

 "I need to see what the agitation is in with the ice nation." Clarke steps back from Abby, not from intimidation but out of a more peaceful protest. She then proceeds to step round her mother and towards the council with Lexa walking beside her and Octavia and Abby in tow. The Heda had sent Nyko back to camp having had no further use. He protested at first but then The Ursa reasoned with him that if they wanted to kill her they would have done it a long time ago.

 They entered the council room and Abby went to stand by Markus and the other councillors turned to face them. There were three councillors in total each with their own advisor’s who were stood behind and to the right of their superiors. Clarke stood in the centre with Lexa by her side.

"We cannot go into a war that isn't ours Clarke, this isn't our fight." It was the councillor to the left of Abby who had spoken. However the room suddenly held a heavy air to it. Clarke's features had darkened and her jaw had clenched. The Ursa had made itself known.

 "This isn't our fight, it is mine. In order to make this alliance last longer I need to go in place of any other." Clarke had stared the councillor in his eyes, daring him to continue, even though the Ursa was here and rearing to go. Ready to pounce if things got too heated.

 "In order for Clarke to be seen as a leader and a respectable one, she needs to go, to sort out the misconducts of the ice nation and prove herself of her title amongst my people." Lexa had tried to step in for Clarke, so as to placate the brewing spirit within; It didn't seem to be working.

 "I am doing this of my own free will." Clarke's frustration was reaching tipping point now, the Ursa was getting to her. She wasn't normally this hot headed and impatient and most of the room's occupants had noticed this.

 "Clarke, you must calm down." Lexa placed a soothing hand on her upper arm but that only seemed to set her off. A deep snarling emanated from the blonde and everyone in the room took a large step back. The Heda was too proud to let Lexa step back so she remained standing there, behind Clarke, with a hand on her arm.

 "I have had enough of this procrastinating." Clarke growled out and with that she exited the room in a fluttering of clothes and impatient huff, with Lexa in tow and the councillors looking after her but not moving an inch.

***

 Octavia had walked with Clarke, deciding to take the Skai leader to her tent. the blonde could definitely do with a sit down right about now before she explodes.

 "Please, take my bed I'm going to go to Lincoln." With that Clarke's left on her own. Suffering silently from the strong throbbing of her torso and arms. Although her cuts don't hurt as much, they still have enough pain there to cause her to wince every now and then, especially if she stands too quickly.

 She decides to look at the damage done and takes off her shirt standing infront of Octavia's mirror staring at the crosses and burns placed upon her body. The largest cut was above her left hip where the girl no older than herself had cut. Clarke had stared at each of her torturers in the eye, keeping her chin up determined to not appear weak before them.

 At that moment the tent flap opened and Lexa appeared, watching Clarke through the mirror. She was stood behind and slightly to the left of Clarke so they were able to see each others faces. "I am sorry Ursa. I could not prevent it to the extent. If I had known earlier I cou-" But Clarke cut her off with a hand in the air and a shake of her head.

 "Lexa, please do not be sorry. It cannot be helped if your people loathe me. Although I'd quite like to slice that girl's nipple off, see how she likes it." Clarke's jaw clenches at the memory of the pain. Lexa looks down and her stoic façade wavers. Clark almost feels sorry for the grounder but decides it isn't her place to show her emotions at that point in time. She could just about feel the Ursa at the back of her mind, constantly reminding her that it was still there. It had backed off a little and Clarke could feel how the spirit was almost cowering away from what was happening.

 "I have brought medicine for your wounds, Nyko had spoken with your mother and told me that you would know what to do with it." Lexa lifts up a small brown sack and steps closer to Clarke. Who had swept her hair back out of the way. She took the sack and started going about boiling water and finding a pestle mortar to grind the ingredients together in.

 "When I have mixed this, do you mind helping me to apply it?" Lexa looked at her, shocked that she be asked to do so after all that's happened. She nodded and went to reach for a cloth Clarke had placed on the table ready to apply the mixture.

 Clarke showed her how much of the paste mixture to dab on and then let her get on with it. She'd occasionally arch away from the light touch wincing, but then move back to it after the touched place would throb less. When Lexa moved from Clarke's legs to her torso to treat the lacerations and brands there, Clarke couldn't help but allow herself to stare at the Heda. The usually ruthless, commanding and immovable Heda was being gentle and whether she knew she was doing it or not, but she was caressing the side of Clarke's thigh rubbing soothing circles into the tight muscle of her leg.

 When Lexa's hand tried to wander higher to reach the cuts that were hidden by her bra, Clarke blushed and went to undo it. "You don't have to if you don't want to." Lexa looks up at Clarke and holds her hands where they were. She was giving Clarke a choice but the stubbornness of the blonde won through and she carried on unclasping her bra, letting it fall of to the side. Her arms fell back to her sides in relief of not being bent in the angle they were to unclasp the undergarment.

 Lexa sighs in defeat and carries on with the gentle motions of her hand, taking extra care over the crosses and making sure every single mark was soothed with the paste. She had finally finished Clarke's torso and stood up to bend down once she'd replenished the now slightly bloody cloth with the paste and dabbed it along the cut on her cheek.

 Clarke smiles slightly and then closes her eyes at the sensation of the cool paste on her burning hot cuts, and the gentle caress of Lexa's hand as it holds her chin up to dab at the cut on her cheek. Her mother had said she wouldn't touch the that one. However it would still leave a scar without the proper bonding glue.

 But just having Lexa reduced to this soft, caring person that only Clarke got to see was more than enough for Clarke. Lexa then announces she's done and helps Clarke into a loose shirt and into Octavia's bed. Lexa then drags a chair, after ridding it of discarded items of clothing, and sits next to Clarke determined to keep watch over her.

 "Has your friend always been this messy?" Lexa questions after having looked around and focuses back on Clarke's face.

 Clarke laughs at Lexa's bluntness and nods, still chuckling as she replies. "She has, back on the Ark you didn't even have to know her name to know who's been sat where and the chores we had to do, oh god Ha, it was like a hurricane had managed to form up there."

 A small smile appears on Lexa's lips, but as soon as it was there it vanishes. Lexa looks away again she offers up the blonde's jacket. Once Clarke had managed to pull the jacket over her arms with Lexa's help, the tent flap opens and Octavia appears.

 Clarke's friend smiles at the interaction before clearing her throat and standing to attention infront of the two leaders.

 " **Heda, the horse is ready, and the warriors are prepared**." Clarke looks to Lexa raising an eyebrow. Lexa then dismisses Octavia with a wave of her hand and turns to Clarke.

 "I want to make sure you're are safe, and well Clarke. I am sending four of my most trusted, the ride will be a little over a day and a half if the horses are ridden in trot and I have a gift for you." With that Lexa reaches for Clarke's hand and gently pulls the blonde out of the tent.

 The Heda attracts the attention of her people by holding onto the Skai leader's hand, but not for one second does she think to drop it.

 They reach the Heda's tent, and they step inside to find Indra stood next to the throne and she greets them both with a respectful bow of the head.

 Lexa takes Clarke though her sleeping quarters flap and to a chest of draws in the corner. She tugs the second draw down open and pulls out what appears to be a mass of furs and skins.

 She holds it aloft for Clarke to see and it unravels into a mixture of colours. From brown to black to grey the trench coat had it all, the collar had plush panther furs attached to the inside and the bottom looked to come well below Clarke's knees.

 She gasps and covers her mouth at the sight. Lexa looks round the garment she's holding up. "Are you wel-" But before she can finish her sentence Clarke's there, taking Lexa's lips in her own. She grins into the kiss until Clarke backs away very slightly.

 " **Thank you Lexa, thank you so much**." Clarke had started running her fingers through the pelts and admiring the different textures and patterns.

 " **I had some of my warriors hunt not so long ago. I killed the panther and bear, they were too close to our camp. I decided to make the coat out of these for you, to keep you warm. I knew you would want to travel to the Ice land so I had it made specially**." The uncharacteristically bold grin splitting Lexa's face grew even more when Clarke did a little squeal when she felt the softness of the panther fur.

 "I'm so glad I met you Lex." Lexa frowns and Clarke hurries to explain.

 "It's a sky people saying. Sorry Heda." She used her title because she thought that was also the cause to the frown but instead found herself smiling.

 "I like ... Lex... It is, as your people would say kawaii?" Clarke was taken aback by this.

 "Octavia took the time to explain to me why she had used it when describing the trinket I plan to gi-" Lexa's face fell and she immediately regretted her words. "You do not need to know the last part." Lexa had started to blush, and without her war paint to hide it it was obvious to Clarke so she reached up to rub a thumb over her cheek.

 "Thank you Lexa. **It's beautiful**. I'm pretty sure it will keep me warm in the coming days whilst in the Ice nation." With that Lexa drapes the coat over Clarke's arm and follows the blonde out of her tent and to where her horse and warriors were waiting.

 Lexa leans into Clarke a little and whispers into her ear, "Do not do anything too dangerous. I don't want to see you in any more pain Klark."

 Clarke grins, mounts her horse and leans down to whisper back, "Heda, calm down. How bad can a little scuffle in the ice nation be? I will come back as quickly as possible though. May we meet again." With that Clarke leans back up and nudges her horse into a canter with the grounder warriors and Octavia following and Lexa grumpily watching her disappear into the shrubbery.

 Damn that beautiful blonde mane and heavenly smell, she's the Heda for goodness' sakes, some sky girl can't get in her way. But she just can't help it. The blonde had affected her, and badly.


	4. Octavia's war roar

 They had been riding for a good seven hours now. Octavia had stayed by Clarke's side the entire time, striking up conversation to keep the two entertained.

 Although she enjoyed to ride, it could also become tiresome, if just for the effort of holding her core straight so she wouldn't fall off, and depending on whether the horse's trot was bouncy or not meaning you'd have to go into rising trot so as to not bounce left right and centre.

 They dismount in a clearing near to the river they'd been following and the changes in climate were slowly taking place. At camp it was cool and green was everywhere, mud, moss and stones were underfoot and the sun shone past multiple mountains in the East and West. Here however the trees were thinner, had lost their needles and was generally more brown than green. Snow had started to fall and soon it was collecting on every available surface. The ground was hard and slippery and the trees were thinning out as they drew closer to the ice deserts.

 They untacked their horses and tied them to their own tree infront of the open side of the tent.

 Two of the warriors had set about gathering dry pieces of wood and kindling whilst Clarke, Octavia and the other warrior set about putting up the tent. It wasn't the same type as back at camp, they were made to last and stay there for ages, this tent was made for lightness and travelling. It had a side completely open to the elements and no floor.

 They managed to get the tent up a few minuted before the others returned and they set about placing stones in a circle for the fire. Octavia had gone out hunting so Clarke took it upon herself to learn the names of the others they were travelling with.

 Octavia came back with a rabbit and pheasant. One of the warriors set about gutting and skinning them whilst Octavia and Clarke put a screen up outside the tent so the grounders couldn't see them, but still had the fire's warmth. Clarke rummaged through her saddle bags and brought out the little sack Nyko had given her, which she'd had replenished and set about grinding the ingredients down.

 Octavia watched her do so, before returning to the tent and collecting a blanket for the pair to sit on.

 By the time Octavia had gotten back Clarke had finished grinding the mixture and was in the process of taking her trousers off. Octavia lay the blanket down and Clarke said her thanks and curled her toes into the soft material - Lexa had insisted on giving Clarke the highest quality materials, and she was grateful for the thoughtfulness.

 When it came to doing the backs of her legs she lay on her front and tried to see where she was dabbing but kept missing and on the fifth attempt Octavia offered to do it for her and Clarke let out a relieved sigh when she relaxed onto her front again. The awkward angle having irritated some cuts on her side and arms.

 Octavia finished dabbing the sutures and stitched and told Clarke to put her trousers back on. She's made sure they were a pair of her looser fitting ones and was thankful she'd decided to do it.

 She then set about removing her jacket and shirt and started to shiver in the cool air, although the fire was there and was doing a good job of keeping one half of her warm, the other half facing away from the fire was slowly turning to ice.

 Octavia noticed and decided it would be quicker if she did it. However when it got to the sutures covered by Clarke's bindings - Lexa had insisted it would be less painful than a bra and would cause less irritation, she was right. - Octavia blushed profusely but continues helping Clarke with the fiddly bits of bandage.

 "I don't know how you've been keeping the cold from affecting you so much Clarke. It's flipping freezing out here." Octavia exclaimed and Clarke laughed. Her nose was starting to form icicles, or at least felt like it, but she didn't want to appear weak so she sat straight and let Octavia dab at her breasts.

 Octavia was too embarrassed to touch the one around her areola and ended up giving Clarke the cloth and watched the blonde suck in a sharp breath between clenched teeth slowly blowing the air back out through puffed cheeks, Octavia winced herself, sympathising with the blonde. Even after so long, the laceration there still hurt immensely and if she moved wrong which caused her bindings or shirt to catch it wrong she'd be left in crippling pain, bent double.

 Often it would only happen when she was alone, but once or twice Lexa had been there and was at her side in an instant, checking the girl and occasionally rubbing circles into her back to try and ease the  pain using her touch.

Clarke breathed out a 'fuck' and continued to dab at the wound. "Octavia could you *groans lightly* get my other saddle bag please?" Octavia nodded, reluctantly straying from Clarke's side.

 Her friend was in pain and her and Lexa couldn't prevent it. Lexa had taken her aside earlier and spoken to her as Lexa, as a friend not the Heda or Commander but a down to Earth equal. She had asked Octavia to go with them, as one of Clarke's closest friends, to keep an eye out for her. So that's what she did and it had been killing her, watching the blonde in pain. Clarke tries to disguise it, but every time the horse spooks slightly or it's gate changes from walk to trot there's that little grimace or slight wince.

 "Hey Octavia, you were spacing out there." Octavia blinks a few times and smiles down at her friend, giving the bag to Clarke. Clarke had just about managed to pull her shirt over her head and was trying to pull the jacket back on. But her hands were shaking from the cold and her fingers stiff to the point where only her thumbs and index fingers could move; even then they didn't move a great deal.

 So Octavia knelt behind the sky girl and helped pull the sleeve on, she would have rubbed her hands up and down Clarke's arms but the lacerations there prevented her from doing so, so she knelt and watched as Clarke opened the bag.

 A light gasp escaped her upon seeing the furs. Beautifully crafted and a ray of deep tones. Clarke looked back and grinned. "Did Heda make that for you? Ooohh panther, I bet that'll scare the Ice clan" Octavia leans forward and whispers beside Clarke's ear, "Lexa?"

 A visible shiver went down Clarke's already shivering spine at her name and grins wider. She got up and draped the furs over her shoulders and immediately relaxed at the warmth surrounding her.

 She steps forward to whisper into Octavia's ear. "I think she's courting me." Leans back, enjoying the shocked expression of her friend and turns to go back to the confines of the tent.

***

 After about two and a half hours of rest, they tidied the camp away after eating a little more and retrieved their horses.

 They weren't going to stop this time, the break had been just for a rest from the saddles. The were comfy but if you'd only just started riding and went on for longer than normal, in Clarke's case ten times longer than normal, then it gets increasingly sore on the bum.

 They picked up their conversations again and made it to the Ice clan in record time. They never cantered, that would mean a few ripped sutures and a few lives to be had by the Heda.

 However when they got the Ice clan in their sights. They were hidden by the edges of the forest and the shadows cast by the slowly lowering sun.

 When Clarke had originally seen the mass of grounders and followed them, only to be caught by Lexa, they had been travelling in the direction of the ice clan to defuse a battle between the ice clan and ice clan turned sand clan. They had scuffled over who's land was who's.

 When Lexa got there, she had managed to defuse the situation pretty early on and settle them.

 But now that the small group had arrived and looked over this 'delinquency' it turned out to consist of a camp of around half the size of the Trikrew's camp. Just over the horizon another camp was settled there and smoke and steam was coming from both camps.

 In the middle of the two camps lay a baron landscape of Ice and blood. Many bodies lay there slowly decomposing, probably from a dispute a while ago. The smell drafting off of the ice plane was repulsive and Clarke had to struggle to keep her dinner down.

 " **What do you think's going to happen**?" Clarke looks to Octavia who's looking intensely at everything lain out before her. She looks back, casting her gaze over both camps and immediately spotting which tent's were their respectable leader's.

 " **Oktavia you will travel with Nirco and Quenta, I will ride with Rita and Orgo to this one**." She gestures to the camp lain out closest to them. " **You will question them on everything and take into mind what their side of the argument is. Make haste I will meet you in plain sight at the edge of the forest over there**." She points to a collection of large boulders stacked on the outskirts of the forest.

 With that Octavia urges her warrior's to follow her and Clarke does the same.

 They walk through the camp atop their horses, making the ice clan's people cower away at the sight of Clarke. Her panther fur on full show and proud posture. She had set her face and allowed the people to stare and whisper amongst themselves. After all it wasn't her territory, and not her place to react.

 She nears the tent she'd spied out earlier and dismounts telling the others to stay mounted. She walks up to the entrance and states her reason for being there.

 The guards let her through and Clarke took a while to look around. The tents inside was almost completely different to that of the wood clan. Instead of curved edges and angelic carvings, jagged edges jut out and what wood was used, was cut crudely almost like the carver couldn't be bothered to even take the splinters off.

 Things were toned light blues and greys and the tent's table was littered with chunks of bone and a map made of ice.

 She spotted the leader sat in her throne much smaller to the Heda's but just as grand. She was watching Clarke scrupulously scanning the blondes body through squinted querying eyes.

 Clarke calmly stands there waiting for the leader to speak. "We did not request of a Skaikrew, lowlife, diplomat like you." Her voice was thick with hate, and a heavy accent tilted each word to make it seem like she was new to the idea of speaking aloud. She sounded almost Russian.

 "What is your reason to be here, if it is not good enough I will kill you." Clarke watched as the woman slowly stands upon seeing the panther fur around her collar.

 "I am Clarke the Ursa, the spirit of peace. You are disrupting it." Clarke simply stood, her chin tilted defiantly whilst the woman stalks towards her. She scoffs and carries on to say.

 "You, the Ursa. I can't believe for one second that such a spirit could have chosen such an insignificant vessel like you." She crosses her arms and comes to rest infront of Clarke, just far enough away to hear each other's breath.

 Clarke decides it's time to show this woman who, or rather what, she harbours. She growls and her nostrils flair. The Ursa's pheromones being released into the air, warning the woman to be careful for where she treads.

 She appears genuinely surprised and takes a step back from the force with which the pheromones hit her. Clarke stops growling when she thinks the Ursa had gotten the message through and goes back to the stoic façade she'd picked up from Lexa and Indra. "Now, why are you disrupting the peace?"

 Clarke patiently waits for the woman to stop procrastinating by walking around, pacing infront of the blonde. "The land, we have fought over was ours. The sand clan wish to take it without any agreements, not that I would allow them. We have previously fought them over it when they brought on an attack and trying to take it by force."

 Clarke raises an eyebrow at this. It does make sense that the sand clan would want the land, it's fertile and has a good vantage point for water and no flood risk.

 "This could have been resolved much earlier if you had sent for me. No-one would have died and you would have kept your land. I have sent one of my warriors over to the other camp, and I will await their verdict." The woman scoffs again and Clarke raises a questioning eyebrow.

 "We could have resolved this fine without you intervening. We don't need some Trikrew aspirer to sort out this mess."

 "This mess, is even messier thanks to your impatience. Do you wish for your people to die?" With that Clarke makes her exit and mounts her horse the moment she appears. The woman had followed her out and she looks down to her squinting her eyes.

 "I will be back before sunrise, you are to wait until further notice." The woman's spiteful gaze doesn't waver as Clarke kicks her horse into trot and reaches the boulders just as Octavia appears with her warriors.

 They reach each other and start swapping information.

 " **The sand clan said they need it. They've recently had an increase in births, and their people are starving. I've seen them, they were laying about too tired to move**." Octavia relays the information urgently.

 "Mmmmhhh. **The Ice clan's leader said it's originally her land, which it is. The previous battle *** she gestures to the decomposing bodies before them *** was as a result of the sand clan trying to take it by force**. I can feel it O. The tension here's screaming at the Ursa, and it's screaming at me." Clarke feels her eyes water at the intensity.

 It wasn't as strong before, but now the screaming was louder like someone was screaming down her ear at an ear splitting pitch. Something's definitely not right, her gaze is drawn from the group of warriors and to both camps. She sees a mass of bodies on both sides and war cries were now audible as they drew closer together and closer to the small group of grounders.

 Clarke sucks in a breath and quickly turns. " **Okay. Octavia, that side you three go, you two with me**." With that they set of in gallop towards both brewing armies. A horrendous pain breaks out in Clarke's body as the horse's gate jiggles her about, undoubtedly tearing sutures. Clarke grits her teeth and carries on.

 She reaches the woman and glares at her, "If you carry on at this rate, I will personally see to it that no-one gets the land." She growls. She bares her teeth.

 The woman hinders only slightly, losing her menacing appearance for a fraction of a second before she's grinning and staring at Clarke in defiance. "Then lets see what my army of hundreds can do against your puny five." With that she shouts her was cry and the mass of bodies surges forward.

 Clarke looks to the soldiers on either side of her, "We will wait in the tree line until one side has won, if they come after all we will have to join the battle instantly." With that she races to the other side and drags Octavia with her, retreating to the side lines as they watch the battle take place.

 The battle goes on for what seems like hours, but it's obvious which side will come out victorious and Clarke's sad to say she'll have to intervene at the end of it.

 Many faced horrible gruesome deaths, Clarke doesn't flinch though, she's felt their pain before, she's felt what it's like to be cut and stabbed; only she survived. Her body still throbs from the effort of riding at full pelt earlier and she takes the occasional glance down along her body through the furs, taking note of the slowly growing red stains all over her clothes.

 Her eyes would flicker once or twice to the warriors to gage their reactions, but non of them react. They seem too engulfed with battle to pay notice to the fact it was growing closer to them.

 Clarke watched as the last few sand men were killed, quick deaths that showed mercy only through the painlessness. The Ice clan leader turns to Clarke and grins.

 Her clothes and face are bloodied, how much of it her own Clarke doesn't know but what she does know is that she wants Clarke to go to her, to fight her. Something deep in Clarke comes forth and she feels her more primal side come to play.

 " _ **Stay here,**_ " she growls unintentionally. She glares at Octavia when she tries to protest and dismounts her horse, shedding her furs and giving them to Octavia to wear.

 Clarke calmly strides over to the woman and the two hundred or so left of her army. Her face set in anger. How dare she defy the Ursa, how dare she disobey a spirit. She has the audacity to outright ignore instructions and carry on.

 Clarke's face sets into a permanent snarl and a deep rumble is constantly being emitted from the blonde's chest. She was a good couple of metres away from the army and the Ice clan leader.

 The blonde sets of in walk, gradually increasing her speed until she was running full pelt, roaring to the heavens, letting everything go and feeling the Ursa. Feeling one with the spirit within her, feeling like this is where she's meant to be, meant to be free and uncloseted, meant for release.

 She was just. Meant. To. Be.


	5. Not just human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Has CLrke taken on more than she can chew? Octavia's a little bit stupid.

 Octavia watched on in horror as Clarke started running, she was at least a good 300 yards away and Octavia even further. The grounders beside her were fidgeting, agitated about how Clarke will pull through; the only problem being she won't, unless by chance some miracle pops up.

 Just as that thought raced through her head, an almighty howl echoed from infront of her, followed by silence then war cries.

 Octavia looked to the blonde again but she was changing, growing. Her shoulders had become extremely stocky and her hair had grown longer. Her shirt and trousers looked tighter than ever with all the rippling muscle slowly building under them and her hands had morphed to webbed paws, large claws hanging out the end.

 Before she could blink though, the blonde was upon the army and the first few to get in her way didn't last a second. She tore them apart, literally, knocking them over and barging them away with claws. The Ice leader had retreated and Octavia could no longer see her second.

 The more warriors that surrounded Clarke the more angered and frantic her attacks seemed.

 " **Go back to camp, explain everything in minute detail and tell Heda what has happened and happening."** Octavia turned her horse back round, hearing the hooves of the others slowly galloping into the distance.

 The brunette looked back to Clarke and found the blonde covered in blood. Much of it her own from her ripped sutures the rest, the ones who dares get in her way.

 She watched as Clarke slowly grew bigger, bulkier, sinewy until her clothes tore and she was left in constricting bindings and underwear just barely there. She towered over those she slaughtered by a good few inches, dwarfing them in height and muscle. Her wild hair had grown even longer, and if Octavia wasn't mistaken her limbs and body had started to grow the fine blonde hair as well.

 In a flash Clarke vanished, under mounds and mounds of writhing bodies trying to tame the wild blonde. For a moment Octavia thought she'd actually been engulfed to the point of no return until the top of the mound moved. Slowly lifting t first, revealing platinum blonde fur.

 The fur was so pure and heavenly it glowed, like a fire in the distance.

 All Octavia could do was sit and watch, mouth hung open as the Clarke, no, the beast burst through the barrier of bodies and started ripping into more and more.

 She caught a glimpse of the beast's back as it reared and howled, knocking over a puny ice warrior trying to plunge his spear into the beast's side. Large black markings, almost like fire spread over her back, it swirled and twisted beautifully down to the small of the beast's back and ending just before it's elbows. It had a mane large enough to be considered an albino lion, but it had the face and body of a bear, larger and much, much more deadly than the brown bear she encountered not so long ago.

  Before Octavia could get too engrossed in what the beast was doing, and how it just knocked people over, who were no longer able to get up after being knocked. She heard footsteps approaching.

 She waited until the footsteps were almost upon her before swiftly quarter pirouetting and pushing over the first warrior she saw. 

 There were about eight in total, surrounding her in a half circle from the tree line.

 She'd have a better advantage on foot than on horse back, yeah she's higher up but she hadn't learnt how to fight from horse back yet and she wasn't going to chance the horses life with her possible mistakes, so she promptly dismounted her steed and slapped it's hind quarters, urging it to run. She drew her sword and pulled herself into a fighting stance.

 The eight had now completely encircled her and like clockwork they started jumping into her, catching her off guard, or so they thought. She had quick feet and she was quick with a sword.

 Before the others could comprehend what had happened three were dead and one was dying. She eyed the four left and waited, urging them to attack her.

 One of them, a woman, slightly taller than her, barged forward going for the method of brutality than speed. It did make her pace falter slightly because she was knocked about so thoroughly from the force of the strikes, not able to withstand the momentum with which the woman used.

 She quickly found her weakness of repeating the same algorithms and changing between three strikes, two parries and five upward swings. They alternated but Octavia quickly found her chance when she'd done an upward swing leaving her sides open. She shot out with her own sword and stabbed the woman in the side, rendering her as good as dead.

 The brunette pulled her sword from the woman's side and turned to face the remaining three. They looked to have much more experience than the others, and moved with a certain snobby quality.

 Two of them were men, although they had extreme height differences, and the other was a woman with predatory eyes. Like everything she sees is prey, even that stick she's sizing up.

 Unlike the now dead woman, they all attacked at once, moving with grace. Like they'd fought together hundreds of times.

 Octavia was forced to go on the offensive side most of the time, having to block all the attacks. But the men figured out how to get past her defence and managed to land a stab to her right thigh and lower left arm simultaneously.

 She let out a pained groan and fell to her knees once they'd retracted their swords from her flesh. For a moment they were just stood there watching her clutch her arm, silently groaning.

 They stepped forward, intending to end her life, but she shot up and in one large ark took out the two men and the woman barely avoided the tip, almost catching her in the throat.

 Octavia shakily got back to her feet and stood as straight as her now injured self would allow. She was still clutching her arm and her thigh throbbed, pulsing out blood every so often.

 She bared her teeth at the woman, daring her to come at her.

 She knew she wouldn't last long, and tried not to let it show as she limped back a step to keep her balance, she was starting to grow dizzy and her vision was blurring.

 The woman grinned and lunged forward, she barely had enough time to move, but it was too late, the tip of the sword had managed to catch her shoulder, embedding it deep.

***

 She didn't know what she'd become. One moment she was Clarke, the normal blonde who liked Lexa and had Octavia, Raven and Bellamy as her friends. The next she was this raging mass of muscle and fur.

 It was weird, it was almost like she was sat within the beast instead of being the beast, but she was controlling it's movements, aiming a massive clawed paw there and biting a man's head off here.

 Her sight had become that much like a magnifying glass and was bent around the edges.

 She let out a snarl as she saw three left. All looking determined to face her down, but she saw right through them, they were scared, terrified even but they stayed; forced to by their leader.

 She stalked forward and two of them charged, she took them down like flies, squashing them beneath her humongous paws. But what really caught her eye was the woman, the ice leader. She had her squinted mask on. She didn't look scared or determined, just looked...defiant, gleeful almost.

 Her inner self was yelling at her to stop and survey the woman, watch her stance see what she does. But Clarke being Clarke launched forward thinking this woman, this insignificant specimen was just another fly. Oh how she was wrong.

 The moment they were within reach of each other, and Clarke had stood ready to squish the woman. She moved, fast as lightning. One minute she was there the next she was at Clarke's side, within her peripheral vision.

 Before the Blonde could land back on all four paws though, three sharp stabs followed her side up in unison. One in her hip, the next in her ribs and the last under her arm, close to her armpit.

 She roared out in pain, and the woman's grin grew into a full blown beam, yellow teeth showing through chapped grey lips.

 Clarke landed back down and she wobbled for a second not trusting her injured arm to support her. Before she was even able to step to the side another sharp pain, mimicked the one in her ribs on the other side.

 The woman had somehow gotten all the way around Clarke and stabbed her in the few seconds it took for her to regain her balance. She was at least three meters long on all four.

 Clarke turned her head to glare at the woman who only beamed more and slowly paced to the front of the blonde.

 "You know, for some big bear thing, you're not very tolerant to swords." Clarke growled and got ready to pounce, but the woman, once again moved before Clarke had even gotten half way.

 She could hear fighting going on behind her, Octavia making sure she didn't die. But then there was a set of foot steps, closer to her that she hadn't noticed before.

 With her heightened hearing, she was able to detect what the woman was about to do and kicked out with her left back paw, stopping the woman from hitting her shank but catching her paw pad instead. It was much thicker than her skin and fur and she only felt a sting as the swords edge hit her sole.

 The woman wasn't quite quick enough to evade the paw coming back at her and sent her flying backwards a good few feet away from where she originally stood.

 Clarke took her time in turning round and faced the woman, who was now slowly getting back up, wincing as she did so.

 The force with which the blonde had kicked her, was so powerful the woman's front armour plate had cracked and her left shoulder looked to be dislocated. The woman grimaced and rubbed the feeling back into her thighs and tried to stand more upright.

 Clarke was almost upon her by now, and the woman didn't have enough time to register the snarl Clarke emitted, before her head had been bitten off and her body slowly, almost comically crumpled to it's knees then slumping forward, head first - or rather shoulders first in this case- into the dirt.

 The blonde looked past the now decapitated woman and to Octavia.

 She started at a fast run eventually sprinting to Octavia, she had been stabbed by the woman and the shit eating grin disgusted Clarke. Before the woman could think twice she was swiped away by a paw bigger than herself.

 Octavia had passed out from loss of blood, and now lay at the feet of Clarke. The sky warrior looked peaceful, but Clarke knew that wasn't the case with her body.

 So she nudged the brunette onto her front and gently dug her teeth into the clothes at her back, being weary to not catch the tan skin hidden beneath.

 She lifted her head, high enough to not drag Octavia along the ground but not too high to be caught in the sharp branches of the endless trees.

 Clarke was running, running like a wild woman. Octavia couldn't die now, not with all that they've been through. She wanted to discuss all the times Clarke had stared gob smacked at the girl, she wanted to talk about girly things like marriage - if grounders had it - and little mini versions of themselves running around. She wanted to see her smile, her laugh, her jokes that lead to innuendos.

  She had passed the camp sight from earlier that day in about two hours, she was much bigger and faster than the horses they rode there but she was also much, _much_ heavier, her paws occasionally sank into the earth like quick sand and much of the under growth had collapsed from her weight, into caverns it had grown over over the years without being disturbed.

 Their fight's couldn't have been any more than three hours at most, because Clarke was starting to catch glimpses of tail, and hind quarters of the other warrior's horses.

 Before she could overtake them however, the grounder's camp loomed into view, alongside camp Jaha. The warriors had thought she was charging at them, making them turn off much earlier to their own camp.

 Clarke wanted to get the help and attention of both camps and their occupants, she wanted as much help as she could get because the injuries Octavia had sustained during her fight with the the warriors, were bleeding heavily and Clarke's steps were becoming sloppy and slow.

 She was reduced to a fast walk, still carrying Octavia, stumbling past the last few trees and out into the open infront of both camps.

 The blonde wandered about aimlessly in the space, looking up to meet a few scared, inquisitive gazes of both camps.

 She eventually came to stop infront of the grounder's camp and dropped Octavia carefully infront of the gate and retreated, lying down.

 Her body had now given up and her head was too heavy to hold up any longer. She lay there bleeding and suffering more than ever, as she watched Octavia finally being taken into the camp, the grounders being incredibly weary of her.

 A few minutes later and Lexa appeared infront of her, a good few feet away, not sure on what she was, who she was. She knew Octavia was safe, and she'd seen the other four warriors ride into the camp moments ago, from when she was pacing and could see over the tops of the tents.

 The blonde closed her eyes and let out a low whine as the wounds compressed in size along with her body as it slowly but surely morphed back to it's previous weak, shivering human form.

 She had heard Lexa run to her as she began to morph, but didn't have the energy left to look up. To see the one she actually cares about in her miserable tortured life.

 Before she did fall unconscious though, more than one set of hands had settled over her worse injuries, stemming the flow. Surely it was too late now to save her, she'd lost too much blood and she doesn't think she can withstand any more injuries, wounds or anything any more, she'd gone through too much for one person alone, too much to withstand alone.

 So she let go, her mind drifting off, her body finally relaxing as she accepted her end, finally she would be at peace and her tormented, afflicted body and mind would finally be free to leave.

 Clarke was more alive than ever, being given the chance to be at peace. She. Was. _Free_.


	6. Pacing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clexa fluff, lots of it. Lots of concerned mentions of Octavia and how did Lexa do that??????

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, the characters point of view changes suddenly. It allows me to go from one to the other easily towards the end.  
> P.s. I haven't scanned it for errors yet. I just need to get it posted then there's less chance of it disappearing because my laptop's an arse and keeps forcing firefox to shut down. :)  
> Oh and can you spot the Korrasami reference?

 Lexa had been pacing all day, during meetings, whilst in her free time - or what little time she had to spare - during the meals.

 She had been reprimanded on multiple occasions by her second on how a 'Heda shouldn't look anxious, not to show weakness,' but when it comes to Clarke she can't help it. Something about the blonde made Lexa forget all her walls and barriers, made her realise there's more to life than constantly being stoic, or at least as the stoic mask her people look to for moral.

 She had been sat in her throne for the majority of the day as well, stewing over what might happen to the girl. She would come back right? with Octavia and her four warriors.

 Octavia had grown increasingly close to the Commander as a friend, a much needed shoulder to lean on and one of the few people she can let her stoic façade waver for the smallest of moments, but a much needed reprieve non the less. It allowed her to release pent up anxiety and anger.

 She was just about to pace around her camp, disguise it as an inspection and get some much needed fresh air. The tent was now becoming suffocating as she waited and waited and waited, when Indra interrupted her unsurprisingly negative train of thought.

 " **Heda, a large white beast has appeared in the tree line.** " Lexa's head shot up, she's never heard of a white beast before, yeah black, brown even green but never white. White signified purity and innocence. " **It appears to be carrying the young sky warrior."**

 Her second had waited outside, waiting for her Heda to give commands, but instead the Commander appeared, face almost crestfallen at the news.

 " **Come** " Was all Lexa said.

 The pair walked to the camp's entrance, about three tents away Lexa caught sight of the beast, or at least the top of it. The rest of it obscured by tents and structures of grounder crafts.

 She instructed for Indra and three others to get Octavia as soon as the humongous beast dropped Octavia to the ground as close to the camp as her warriors would let it. The Heda's voice shouting commands to treat the sky warrior, as she was rushed past Lexa caught a glimpse of the wounds the young girl had endured.

 She eventually reached the outskirts of her camp and watched the beast finally come to rest inbetween her camp and the Skaikrew's camp. Before it's eyelids lowered, the discerning blue was visible, although tinted grey the electrified Aegean was still there and Lexa knew instantly as the beast started shrink, it's bulk alomst melting off.

 It was Clarke, she had come back but severely injured. The sheer size of her before she'd shrunk back to her original self had bled out a horrendous amount of blood and the shaking blonde was now lain in a pool of maroon silver, the sun catching it just so to make it shimmer and ripple a ray of oranges and golds.

 The blonde tresses were caked in dirt and blood and lord knows what else. Her shivering form sending ripples along the surface of the ever growing pool.

 Lexa was at Clarke's side without even knowing she'd ran, just as she reached her however another three sets of hands came into view, knocking the brunette from her stupor long enough to look up and find Abby, Raven and Bellamy.

 Their four sets of hands worked in unison, stemming the flow to too many open wounds and kneeling in the puddle not caring. Clarke was dying and if they didn't do anything soon she would be completely lost.

 Lexa doesn't know how she'd be able to cope, first Costia and now Clarke. Fate had a horrible way of hurting the Heda, making sure she knew her actions didn't come without consequences.

 She wouldn't be able to handle losing Clarke and Costia in the same lifetime.

 "We need to get Clarke to the medical bay, I have all the equipment there." Abby had started stitching Clarke's wounds right where she lay. She had brought the small bag of necessities with her having grabbed it immediately upon being informed of who the 'beast' was.

 The nude blonde was still lain face down in the puddle, arms risen above her head, legs together to the side.

 She carefully ran a hand along Clarke's back tracing the faint black markings before dragging it down her side and rolling her over with the help of Bellamy.

 Lexa couldn't help the little gasp that exited her and it surprised the others. The moment Clarke's blood dripping face came into view, Lexa felt a pulse in her chest. Like a horse had suddenly bolted and she wasn't prepared, cuts and lacerations littered the beautiful pale face and her lip was split in two places. Her mouth was slightly open showing still sharp razor teeth, white and red from the blood seeping from her cut lips.

Lexa couldn't stand it any more, so she looked to Abby, who was still busy stitching the girl up and said, "Abby, I will lift Klark soon, be ready to run to the medical bay. All three of you will keep your hands where they are."

 With that, her arms snuck under the blonde's back and knees and lifted like she was made of feathers. Her head lolled back, her arms dangled limply at her sides and her legs bobbed to the sudden rush upwards. Her chest was exposed to the cool autumn air and a cloud of condensation exuded from Lexa's puff outwards.

 The pale beauty was dripping with blood and Lexa knew she'd be as soaked in the blood as Clarke was herself.

 The four of them worked in unison, getting out of Lexa's way enough for her to see where she was treading but not enough to completely lose the pressure on her wounds.

 The gates were open the moment Abby had stepped outside, and it's people made sure to stay back as they ran, no, sprinted to the medical bay; the blonde's body bobbing about limply in Lexa's grasp.

 Everywhere was silent as Clarke finally made it to the surgery; Lexa placed her down as carefully as possible on the closest flat surface she could find, which happened to be a metal table. Lexa promptly covered the wounds Abby had been holding moments earlier to let the woman seek out the equipment needed.

 She took the chance to finally take in Clarke, how calm and innocent she seemed in her unconscious state, how peaceful. It was almost ironic the way the blood coated her body, like a thin layer of inescapable chaos.

 The girl had gone through far too much on her own.

 She was shaken from her observation of the blonde's face, not having noticed the distance from which she did it, by a gasp. She peeled her eyes away from Clarke, to meet Raven's gaze and shock spread across her face as she inspected the Commander's features. That was when she noticed the warm trail slowly making it's way down her cheek, she was crying. Did she care...no, she was crying for Clarke, they'd been through too much for her to just die now.

 Abby had gotten back to the small group a while ago and had already tended to over half her wounds in record time. But Lexa couldn't take the time to watch the skilled hands working over her, afraid that if she looked away any longer than she already had then the blonde would give up and Lexa would be left alone, again.

 "We need to turn her, Lexa, keep her head central to her collar bones we'll do the rest." Lexa nodded and moved to the end of the metal table. She positioned her hands on either side of her head and couldn't hep swiping a thumb over a blood soaked cheek.

 They managed to turn her and Lexa slid her hands underneath the Blonde's shoulders allowing the blonde's cheeks to rest on her forearms - after swiping her hair off of her shoulders - giving her some breathing space.

 The Heda couldn't bare to look away from the bloodied blonde bangs, afraid to see too many open wounds still not been sewn up.

 Suddenly, out of nowhere Clarke's body started growing, getting bulkier and sinewy by the second. Abby was forced to stop and the others backed away, too confused to stay there. Lexa however stayed, supporting her front and knelt down and started whispering into the blonde's neck all the bottled up feelings she's had. Hoping the girl could hear her, let her reasoning be taken into account.

 Clarke's body had now become a good foot taller and her lean muscles were making the legs of the table bend under the weight. But then as quickly as she'd grown, she shrank, to just half the size she'd grown to. She was now just skin and bones and her joints stuck out insanely, like she hadn't eaten in weeks.

 Whatever was going on with Clarke internally it was definitely affecting her physically.

*** 

 Her freedom was short lived as the blindingly white light was blocked from her. It was almost hypocritical of how people would say, 'don't go into the light' and fake being sucked into an invisible force, she would have given anything to go beyond the entrance.

 She would have thought that the thing blocking her path would have been human shaped, or had a form/silhouette of human. But it wasn't, it was the Ursa's spirit.

 The great grizzly was stood before her staring her down whilst she whimpered from being denied the peace that was oh so close. She could feel the light rays heating her skin, letting a warm fuzzy feeling spread through her noticeably nude body, but the spirit made her feel like she was still wearing too many clothes, too swamped in needless garments.

 "Y _our time is not now_." Clarke stopped looking at the Ursa's paws and brought her gaze up to meet the piercing one of the spirit. It's voice was godly and spoke in many voices, woven together to form one big booming feminine vocal note.

 "How isn't it now? I've been through too much. I can't stand it any longer!" Clarke was exasperated, 'she wasn't ready' she couldn't have been any more ready to accept death.

 " _Yes, you have been through much. However your time is still a distance from now_." The spirit spoke evenly, not angering or growing impatient with the blonde's stubbornness.

 "Come on. I've basically lost all my blood and I'll be too weak to even open my eyes, and you're telling me I'm not dying if not dead already? This is insane." Clarke threw her hands up and sighed loudly expressing her irritation.

 "Yes, your battle's are over. But there is still the one you love to entertain. You need each other, if you were to part with them, they will not survive their internal struggles and chaos will ensue. Clans will crumble and Polis will burn." The spirit turned to face Clarke head on, she had to crane her head up to see the bears gaze because it was so grossly tall.

 "Surely that can't happen?" The spirit tilted it's head quizzically, did Clarke just challenge an insight from the Ursa herself? "I'm so tired, I don't think I'll be able to recover, please, _please_ let me pass."

 "No! It is final, now before you go, I have made some altercations to your body to make it less susceptible to future injuries, illnesses and will allow you to become a clear leader. You will learn the extent of your bodies altercations over time and it will help the scarring heal sooner. Farewell Clarke and I hope to see you again in the distant future with a wife in tow. Maybe you can introduce us." Through Clarke's confused angry daze she couldn't help but crack a smile at the bear spirit's slight jesting.

 She sighs, "I'm just so tired, tired of fighting endless battles and killing and slaughtering." With that the spirit dissipates and then Clarke's left with the bright white light again, only this time it had a faint picture to it. Her surroundings slowly morphed and became more apparent the more she squinted.

 Her immediate reaction was to sit up and observe her surroundings, but that failed tremendously when her body protested and a soft soothing voice was audible from beside her. She let the hand on her shoulder guide her back down to the bed, which creaked and groaned from her weight.

 Her weight? Clarke looked down the length of her body. It was covered in furs but she could see the distinct muscle's bristling beneath the surface of her skin, which was caked in a light layer of sweat.

 After a moment of confused silence the soothing voice came back again, Clarke only just realising it was Lexa, tried to swivel to it's source to find her limbs had been restrained. She started fighting the bindings but again was stopped from doing so by the same soothing voice and hand.

 "Don't, I will have them removed momentarily. We had to restrain you with bondage because your thrashing would have caused serious injury to the restrainers and yourself." The blonde managed to swivel her head to face Lexa and relaxed at seeing the slanted features of the woman. She didn't have her stoic mask on and it allowed Clarke to see the effects of war and battles for a leader far too young melted away, replaced by a sweet, innocent, unwithered face.

 "L..le...x-" She was cut off from her struggle by Lexa shaking her head and a cup held infront of her. The cup was brought tentatively to her lips and she drank the cooling liquid in two massive gulps. This was when she noticed her teeth.

 Just as she was about to pull away, her incisor caught the cup and took a chunk out of the metal, she frowned and ran her tongue over the edge of them nicking her tongue in the process. They were almost like a cat's set of teeth, sharp and pointed with longer canines.

 "Bellamy! Raven!" Lexa shouted and without even a moments notice the pair were stood beside the bed and looking around wearily for any sings of danger or distress.

 They were less pedantic when they noticed Clarke's consciousness and even let a little smile lilt their lips.

 "Let me guess, she wants freedom?" Lexa nodded and passed a knife to the girl, who then set to work cutting through thoroughly tied knots and loops.

 There was something niggling at Clarke, telling her something was amiss, but she couldn't quite place it until she was able to bring her hand up from under the covers. She found claws not nails and they were tainted yellow, her fingers were more square and stocky than before and her palms felt much more rough so she turned them over to see darkened, cracked skin there, almost like pads.

 Was this what the Ursa had warned her of? The obvious changes in her body? She sat up again, being more successful this time round, and the furs dropped to her waist revealing her bare torso. It was still covered in scars and sutures from both the torture and the previous battle. They had crusted over and looked older than they should be. She looked quizzically to Raven who had just finished cutting the knot around her ankle.

 "How long have I been out?" Raven shrugged like it was no big deal. "Just a few days." Clarke frowned and trailed her gaze back over to Lexa, only now noticing she was in a beige tunic and her usual torn black trousers. No face paint, no armour and no sword. Just her dagger.

 "Abby said she put you into a coma? *Bellamy nodded* To let you heal properly. You were unconscious for eleven days." Lexa leaned back into her chair and crossed her arms, letting her posture go, even infront of the other two, Clarke raised a questioning brow to which Lexa sat forward again. "I got to know your friends much more over these past few days, they are good friends to have Clarke and Octavia is up and moving much earlier than she was advised. But upon hearing about your state a day ago she had to be restrained in order to get her to at least sit down." Clarke laughed, but the sound was foreign to her and it instantly turned into a frown.

 The blonde looked down at her lap, and the hands gently folded together on it. Her chest was bare, but she didn't feel embarrassed; she simply didn't care. The world can see her scars for what they are, scars, it's the mental ones she's more frightened of. The ones that don't go and can push one to the point of insanity.

***

 Lexa noticed the distant look resonating behind Clarke's Aegean eyes and looked to the two who were now stood at the edge of her bed. "Leave us for a moment?" She tried to not sound too harsh, it came out as more of a question but still had an underline of command. The other two understood and bid their goodbyes, making it known that they would stand guard.

 When the tent flap closed Clarke turned to face Lexa. She was just about to ask Lexa a question when Lexa stopped her with a hand held up.

 She got off her chair and leaned towards Clarke, a hand splayed on the bed bellow her while the other made it's way to Clarke's cheek. She kept leaning until their faces were mere millimetres apart and Lexa could breath in Clarke's scent, it had become considerably stronger after her transformation. She had grown straight after Abby had finished the stitching and given her a thorough clean, with the help of the Heda. Her morphing didn't change back to her previous state, and this had resulted in the table she was lying on to collapse after a few seconds of quiet creaking.

 Lexa held back, giving Clarke the chance to back out if she wanted, which is what Lexa thought she'd do at first, because of the hesitation Lexa's stance wavered and she looked away ashamed that she'd presumed Clarke even for one second wanted to...

 Clarke's lips took her by surprise, they were chapped and rough, from her dehydration or now morphed form she didn't know, but goodness was it heaven. She closed her eyes savouring the blonde's taste and smell. She had missed this, missed the human contact she craved, not for one second did the Heda regret her decision to make Clarke a part of her life.

 A hard smooth hand found it's way to Lexa's elbow and clung on, not wanting her to move the gentle strokes away from her cheek. The grip was unintentionally tremendous and Lexa let out a slight whimper. Clarke instantly retracted her hand and pulled back, panic settling in her eyes.

 Clarke looked down at her hand, staring at it in horror. Realisation had come over Clarke and Lexa felt her rising panic, she thought she'd just hurt Lexa and was now blaming herself for it.

 " **Klark** " Lexa sat on the edge of the bed and having to look up to see Clarke's face, " **Calm down, when you stand I will help you see the differences, so will Raven, Octavia and Bellamy."**

 The Heda rubbed her hand along the massive broad shoulders next to her, "We will figure out just how strong you are. I will walk you round camp with Raven and then retrieve dinner once you've gotten used to standing." Clarke looked to her, waiting for clarification, wanting reassurance, after all she had unintentionally just squished Lexa's arm and she wanted to know if it really was okay for her to be walking round.

 Lexa stopped the circular ministrations of her hand and smiled, definitely reassuring.

 " **Before you ask, you were moved from the medical bay to my tent because it's warmer, you're taller and heavier than before and Raven and Bellamy both commented on your dislike for needles**." Clarke's face turned red, embarrassed by the fact her weight had risen, but she smiled shyly non the less. Lexa smiled as well, a big toothy grin and Clarke laughed at the absurdity of it.

 "Right, I really want to walk around." Lexa nodded in understanding and stood up to retrieve a staff made by her craftsmen, twice her height and as big as her thigh; Lexa also got the cloth wraps for Clarke, seeing as there was no way any of their grounder clothes would fit her massive frame, and walked back to the bed. Clarke raising a questioning eyebrow at the staff.

 "To help you move, if I were to help you stand I would be pushed into the ground." Clarke's face tinted an even darker red and accepted the staff non the less.

 Lexa then proceeded to help the Blonde with her wraps, making sure they'd cover her top half and bottom. Two of the pieces were a beige colour with a brown stripe running down the centre of the fabric, the third was a deep muddy blue and was the smallest of the three cloths.

 The first of the three pieces of material was the largest, it's length was twice that of the bed and it spanned just under half the bed's width. Clarke lifted her arms, wincing at the sore muscles. Lexa had to stand on her tip-toes to wrap the cloth under her arms at first, covering her chest, but then progressed to wrapping once more under her arms, bringing the cloth up and over her right shoulder and re-wrapping it the other way round, underneath her breasts.

 If Lexa heard correctly before from Raven, this would be similar to a 'crop top'. It made sure her chest was out of the way, exposing the washboard abbs and scars beneath.

 When Lexa urged the blonde to stand, she tried not to rush forward when she stumbled a little, her legs wrapped in the bed furs. She eventually managed to hall herself up, clinging desperately to the staff she's been given, her legs were wobbly and it would be comical if not for the panicked expression on Clarke's face. Her head almost scraped the tent's roof if it weren't for her crooked stance. " **Do not worry Klark, you will grow accustomed to your body."**

 Clarke frowned as Lexa stepped forward with one of the cloths in hand, it had two holes to one end, diagonally to the corner. Cognisance washed over her and her blush made it's appearance again.

 Lexa lowered the fabric to the ground and placed it just so, so that Clarke could easily step into the holes. With one last checking glance and a sharp nod from the blonde, Lexa pulled the cloth up, it fit snugly on her thighs - she must make a mental note to praise the ones who made the sheets at such short notice and got them so precise in measurements.

 She heard a gasp from above her and looked up to see Clarke desperately trying to look anywhere but at her hands, they were so close but Lexa carries on with her ministrations, wrapping the longer end around one hip, around her very nice bum and over the other. She then brought it down, bringing it through smooth pale legs, back up around the hip and repeated the same movement on the other hip and attaching the end to the fabric at Clarke's waist. She rolled the top down to keep the whole thing in one place. The waist line rode low, exposing the defined V jutting out from under the fabric.- oh how Lexa wanted to trace those lines with her fingers.

 The last peace, the blue one, she held up to the covered shoulder, draping the thin elegant article of 'clothing' over a very prominent trapezius muscle, towards the end of the fabric, and it just about reached her deltoid accenting the lean bristling muscle exposed on either side of the beige cloth.

 She fanned the fatter end out and tucked it into the wraps against Clarke's chest and they both blushed at the initial not quite skin on skin contact. The blue material was then intricately wound round the fabric at her shoulder, making it role and bunch into a neat twisted strap, the end of the fabric just barely touched the ground and again The Heda was reminded to make sure the textile workers were highly praised.

 She stepped back and crossed her arms, inspecting her handy work. Clarke looked absolutely stunning in the items, and the colours complimented her skin greatly. She was knocked out of her inspection not long after, "Err...Lexa? What's with the blue bit?" She tugged lightly at the fabric with one hand while the other clutched her staff securely, making sure she didn't fall over.

 " **It's to symbolise your leadership amongst my people, they consider you their leader Klark, the Skai Heda, and I hope you will consider them to be your people as well as mine and the Skaikrew**." Clarke dropped her arm and turned to Lexa shocked.

 " **Since when have I been considered a leader**? I wouldn't have thought for one second that I'd be worthy of such a title." Lexa smirked and shook her head stepping closer once again to the blonde.

 "They decided the moment you came out of the medical bay, you have done many things worthy of their claim for you as Skai Heda; *Lexa leaned up to whisper* they also consider you to be of a good compatibility to myself as a partner." Lexa smirks at Clarke as she takes in the information, then her blush spreads down her neck and to her collar bone - not that Lexa was looking - and she started to fidget from how flustered she had suddenly become.

 " **Now if you would like to accompany me outside, I'd like to walk you round the camp**." Clarke nodded and Lexa held an elbow out for her to take, she did take it, although tentatively so as not to accidentally squish her other arm as well.


	7. Each to their own

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of running, weightlifting and exhaustion. Oh and shock. What does Clarke do when the group of four come across a fallen pine and will they finally go to see Octavia?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm hoping a certain someone, will recognise the reference of the title.  
> p.s. The POV will change accordingly. Sorry if it gets confusing I just ... too many places where I need to change the POV so....  
> Okay so, abrupt ending, however if I'd have tried to end it any other way then I would have basically written another chapter into this one.  
> This chapter is also where my beta reader started being a beta reader, thank you :) you're fabulous as ever.

 Lexa held the tent flap open for Clarke, after she had stepped outside. As Clarke emerged - crouched down from the low entrance - a few gasps and mutters were audible from the small group of grounders that awaited their Heda and newly appointed Skai Heda.

 " **Heda! It's the Heda!** " Someone shouted, they sounded exited almost like they hadn't seen her in a good while.

 " **Why are they so exited?"** Clarke had had to lean down to whisper into Lexa's ear so as not to possibly offend or insult any traditions. All of the grounders around Lexa's tent had stopped what they were doing and gone to surround the two Heda's mostly gaping at Clarke.

 The speed with which word got round was substantial. From just being stood outside for a mere two minutes almost half the grounder camp had swarmed to encircle her, Clarke, Raven and Bellamy, although Raven and Bellamy had taken their position behind Lexa and Clarke the moment they stepped foot outside.

 " **I haven't been out of my tent since you got here**." The Commander looked up at Clarke then pointed to where they stood.

 "Hey guys? Could we erm...Kinda talk in English please?" Clarke swivelled round to face Raven, but did so too quickly, tripping up on her staff's placement and almost squished three grounders stood a little too close.

 She managed to collect her composure and the grounders around them all took a few steps back incase she did fall next time - if there was a next time.

 "Sorry Raven, I'd just gotten so used to using Trigadesleng." She grinned awkwardly and slapped a hand to the back of her neck. She turned to Lexa, "Could we go to Octavia's tent? If she's there of course." The Heda nodded and turned to her people.

 " **I apologise having not emerged from my resides in the eleven days previously, I will attempt to be more sociable now that Clarke is well, or at least, better**." Her speech got a few chuckles and her people went back to their knitting. A few younger ones still stayed put and stared at Clarke in amazement but she didn't let that deter her, after all they were just children.

 Lexa looked back to Clarke, offering her elbow again which she took a little less dejectedly. Clarke looked away shyly, a light blush brushing her cheeks. She tightened her grip on the staff and started to walk again, as did Lexa.

 Lexa felt much more relaxed walking round her camp, she didn't know if it was because of Clarke or... well Clarke. She was better, she was awake and moving. Whatever her morphed form did, it definitely seemed to heel the blonde.

 A slight, freezing breeze passed them and she heard Raven's teeth chatter, the warm hand at her elbow softened as she turned to Raven. It was comical the way she had to tilt her head as much as she did to even see the top of Raven's head. "You a bit cold?" Raven nodded, wrapped her jacket tighter around her torso and eyed Clarke's form.

 "Yeah, how are you not?" Clarke shrugged and looked at her-self as well, having to slow her pace a little more to do so.

 As she was looking down she saw the imprints of her footprints and staff prints. They were pressed a few millimetres into the ground and she stopped, Bellamy almost walking straight into her.

 Lexa noticed the crestfallen look Clarke had, "What is wrong?" A single tear escaped Clarke's Aegean eyes as she pointed to the ground.

 "I'm really that heavy?" She then pointed to where the other three were walking and not even a slight dip was there.

 "Hey, you might be heavy but daaamm, you look fine az. I'd kill for a body like that. You've got bucket loads more muscle than Bell here." Raven nodded her head towards Bellamy who feigned pain and made Clarke laugh, a proper full on boisterous breathy laugh, it became too infectious for the other three and Raven and Bellamy all laughed with her while Lexa let a small smile spread her lips; she didn't want to let her mask fall infront of any onlookers.

 After Clarke had stopped clutching her sides from laughter she wiped a tear away and cleared her throat, trying to be more serious. "Right. Back to what we were doing."

 She turned round and Lexa fell into step beside her; every one step Clarke took the other three took at least three.

 They wandered round for a good fifteen minutes before Clarke started to loose her breath and became more reliant on her staff. Lexa heard her speak up, her voice much deeper than she had intended and it made both of them jump. She tried clearing her throat and start again but that didn't work so she just carried on regardless.

 "It's weird not wearing any shoes, or clothes...well many clothes. It's like -3 degrees and the floor's rock-hard." They had started walking through the woods now, just in the outskirts of the trees, easily seen if you knew they were there.

 Before Lexa could reply a few shouts were heard from further into the forest, a slow deep groaning and then the sound of something heavy landed. Lexa heard multiple shouts of pain following and turned to Clarke and the others. "If you wish to accompany me, come now, or you can keep going to Octavia." With that she took off towards the shouts, she heard a panting behind her and heavy footsteps to accompany the laboured breaths.

 They reached a glade and The Heda stopped abruptly, taking in the scene before her.

 It was obvious a tree had fallen, if from all the snapped branches on the surrounding trees, and the tree that lay off to one side of the glade was any indication. The three behind her caught up and gasped as four sets of eyes landed on the four grounders stuck underneath it's fallen trunk.

 The tree - a Jeffrey pine - had collapsed onto the four grounders while three of them were walking around desperately trying to look for some leverage to more the tree, not noticing their company.

 Lexa stepped forward, " **What has happened here**?" The anxious warriors all turned to her and bowed their heads out of respect.

 **"We were hunting from the tree when it fell with those three halfway up the trunk**." One of the grounders, a man with a mask of metal, gestured to the stuck writhing bodies. They were straining against the wood trying to free their trapped limbs.

 One of them had the right side of her body stuck, another had both legs under. One of them was dangerously close to being completely engulfed by the wood and the last had a calf trapped under a thick branch, which had impaled the ground.

 Lexa turned back to the grounder who had previously spoken, " **Go to camp and retrieve the strongest, and get the metal bars we use for tent poles**." The grounder nodded and took off into the trees.

 "Wait, shall I see if I can lift it?" Clarke stepped forward into Lexa's line of sight. The Commander shook her head.

 "I doubt you will be able to lift it Klark, and if you can, injury is a possibility." Clarke harrumphed and raised an eyebrow.

 "By the time they come back, that guy might be dead and the others having a limb or two amputated. Let me give it a try, better me injuring myself than possibly losing all four of them." Lexa let it sink in, - it was highly unlikely that Clarke would sustain an injury but she still didn't want to risk it. Then again what kind of Heda would she be if the Skai Heda had offered to do it and save the four trapped. She can't deny her people the possibility of saviour and survival.

 In the end, that was the deciding factor. She'd let Clarke try and if that failed then at least they knew how far Clarke could push her new form and that her grounders had had the best possible chance at surviving if the worst comes to the worst.

 She ended up nodding and stepped aside, offering a hand out to the log firmly lodged in place over her warriors.

 "Don't push yourself Clarke, you might be stubborn but us three are more stubborn than one of you." Clarke grinned at Raven and nodded moving to the end closest to the roots. The span of the roots came to just above her waist. Baring in mind she's like, 7'10?

 She took a firm hold of the largest roots and prepared herself to lift, she braced her feet against the ground, tilting her body into the mass of roots and tensed her muscles once.

 She started heaving and a groan escaped her from the shear effort. She could feel her muscles bristling from the exertion she was pouring into lifting the tree and her back strained against the weight.

 Lexa watched on in amazement and arousal, seeing Clarke's mass of muscles bristling and looked about ready to burst, veins webbing through her whole body did questionable things to Lexa, but she pushed that to the back of her mind, the worry swamping it.

 A tearing sound was detectable the more Clarke strained, Lexa searched the blonde's cloths and her eyes came to rest on a sizeable rip stretching from the waistband halfway down to the hole wear her thigh jutted out.

 The tree started to move, inching it's way upwards, it took a good few minutes to lift even half the amount required to free the grounders and a small group of onlookers had gathered in the glade's edges, waiting with baited breath.

 Clarke paid them no mind as she kept straining against the wood, inching it higher and higher; it suddenly became much easier and she opened her eyes, which had been squeezed shut to see a group of grounders lifting it from the sides.

 Clarke unclenched her teeth, letting a shout echo out into the muffling trees as she lifted the tree fully until her arms locked and a few managed to drag the nearly unconscious bodies out. She waited until they got to a safe distance before shouting, " **MOVE!** "

 The immense pressure immediately returned as the helpers backed away and joined their associates and watched on as Clarke strained a few more seconds, baring the weight completely.

 It was killing Lexa to watch her struggle alone, but she knew she'd get yelled at if she were to go over and help.

 With a final grunt Clarke hefted the trunk a little further into the air to give her time to jump backwards and fall onto her back before the roots snapped back down, shaking the Earth and causing a few leaves and needles to fall off of surrounding trees.

 Clarke stayed on her back, stretched out with an arm over her eyes and breathing heavily. Lexa had already walked urgently to her side and knelt at her head, checking to see if she was alright.

 She reached a hand out and stroked it over the firm forearm covering half the blonde's face. Her chest rose greatly before a puff of air exuded the girl on the ground and the arm moved a little way down her face, covering her mouth instead of her eyes.

 "Are you well?" Clarke nodded and covered her eyes again, "Yeah, just...just a little exhausted." She let out a shaky laugh then proceeded to sit up. Bits of the forest floor stuck in her hair and to her back.

 Lexa brushed the bits off and looked to Raven, who clutched the staff tightly in both hands. She ushered the mechanic over, Raven responded but with great difficulty as she dragged the big stick along the ground making a scraping noise that sounded almost sinister.

 Clarke couldn't help the loud laugh that escaped her at seeing her friend struggle so feebly with the wood. "Come on, I'm a mechanic not a lumberjack." she whined as she neared the two.

 She eventually got there and dropped the staff down next to Clarke where it clunked upon impact with a stone and rolled towards the exhausted blonde.

 Clarke stood the staff on end and used it to help shuffle herself closer to the fallen tree. She placed a firm but still shaky hand on one of the more sturdy looking roots at shoulder height and the other on the staff, she then heaved up from the ground, her muscles protruding greatly - Lexa and Raven making sure to stay well back - her legs shook and bowed a little before she straitened up and got her breath back.

 "Whew, never doing that again...hopefully." Clarke grinned and turned to face the pair, careful to not fall over the misplaced staff this time.

 They all turned to where they'd come from but stopped dead in their tracks. The grounders that had been rescued and the grounders who had come to help were stood there watching them, mouths hung open, eyes wide. Not at all like how a grounder should be.

 Clarke shied away and tried to hide behind the other three, Lexa took pity on the girl and faced her warriors. " **If you have any negativity towards Klark, you will answer to me**." She eyes her warriors surprised when one of them spoke up.

 " **Skai Heda, please, we do not hate you or even fear you. We accept you as our own...** not to mention our Heda really needs to be bedded." They all smirk except Lexa, who squinted at the woman in distaste.

 " **Watch your tongue**." The woman gulped lightly but carried on.

 "If you were to be targeted we will stand behind you. You are one of us, and us apart of you." Clarke emerged behind the small wall of friends, desperately trying to stay upright, leaning heavily against her staff.

 She nodded and held an arm out as the grounder way of thanks. She gripped a little too hard, still not used to her strength, and recoiled when the woman winced and rubbed her arm back to life when she took it back.

 "Sorry, not used to it yet, Heh" She looked away from the woman then down to Lexa and the others. "Right...Octavia." And she set a fast pace through the woods to reach the sky warrior's tent.

 Lexa looked from Raven to Bellamy who both nodded and started at a sprint to even give them a chance at catching up with the hurrying blonde.

 "Clarke, slow down. We'll get to Octavia in time" If anything Bellamy's shouts only sped the blonde up more.

 Raven tried this time with a little more success, "Clarke, slow your butt down now, before you fall over and face plant the very tasty looking ground." She relented a bit, enough for them to catch up.

 " **Klark, my love, please don't cause any more accidental harm to yourself**." Clarke stopped mid stride. Eyes wide, mouth hung in shock. Lexa realises her slip up and starts to internally curse herself.

 She looks away, ashamed of doing something else that she should have let Clarke decide, first the initiation of the kiss and now this. She really was stupid sometimes. Yeah they'd said love but never specifically said they loved each other or ... this.

 "Lexa...Lex, look at me." A single finger came to rest under her chin and slowly pushed, forcing her to meet Clarke's gaze. She did tilt her head to face Clarke but didn't meet her gaze. " **Lex, please look at me**."

 She reluctantly lifted her gaze, the moment she did she found Clarke much closer than she anticipated and blushed madly, not having the war-paint to cover it so she turned her face further away from the two watching them, albeit at a distance.

 Clarke smiled sweetly and knelt, this time she had to look up to Lexa to see her face instead of vice versa.

  **"I love you too** ," with that Clarke swoops in and kisses her, short and sweet but non the less passionate. The finger under her chin moves to cup the side of her face as she pulls back. **"I never took you for the kind of person who gets so flustered about little insignificant things like this."**

 " **I wouldn't have thought this to be insignificant.** To my people yes, to me no." The Heda smiles back and covers the hand on her face with her own. She curls her fingers and squeezes.

 Lexa leans down and presses a kiss to Clarke's forehead, letting her lips linger a few seconds before entwining their fingers and pulling Clarke to standing.

 "When you guys are done with the soppy stuff, can we please go see Octavia?" Raven disrupted their moment and Lexa shot her a very sinister look, while Clarke apologises, then apologises again for Lexa's look.

 "Don't worry about Lexa, she won't do anything." Lexa can clearly hear Clarke's teeth grinding together and the ever so slight growl towards the end of the sentence, as she squeezes a little too hard in warning.

 Lexa just sighs, turns around and starts walking, 'dragging' Clarke along behind her. She knew she'd never win this fight.

 They traipse through the woods for a few minutes, Clarke hobbling along beside Lexa, relying even more on her staff as each minute passes.

 They eventually reach the grounder camp and Clarke sighs in relief, by now she was dragging her feet and her limbs had started to feel like lead. Her shorts/underwear/cloth bottoms - whatever the hell they were -, had started to tear even further and Clarke didn't know how long the fabric would hold up.

 Unfortunately Octavia's tent was much closer to the border between camp Jaha and the grounders and they had come out into the open space inbetween the two camp's 'no man's land'. She heard her name being shouted from the Skai people's camp and rolled her eyes knowing and regretting walking that way to camp.

 She turns to the Skai people's camp and sees absolutely everyone there, pressed against the fences and her mother running out of the gates being tailed closely by Kane. Clarke puts on a forced smile at the wild look in her mother's eyes and bends down.

 "CLARKE! oh my god Clarke, what the HELL HAPPENED!?" Abby practically jumps into Clarke's awaiting arms and is left dangling in the arms wrapped tightly around her.


	8. Too many reunions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will we find out exactly what Clarke looks like? and trust Raven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this chapter has less of a basis on what the hell's going to happen. Again no idea if it will make sense but lets just hope and see. :) And of you're struggling to see the height difference Clarke's about 7'8 which is the same as tiny from the globetrotters. Oh and last thing before I sod off is, There's quite a blunt ending, I just can't be arsed at the moment.

 "Mum." Clarke smiles and buries her face into the older woman's neck, inhaling the calming scent there.

 Her back started hurting, and her muscles were still burning from her earlier 'exercise'. "I'm gonna have to put you down." She does so and looks around questioningly for her staff. She spots it on the floor and groans - it's going to take her ages to get down and back up again.

 "Hang on, let me grab that." Raven holds up a hand and proceeds to bend down and try picking it up, she groans from the effort until Bellamy helps and they lean it towards Clarke. She grabs it thankfully and gives a smile of thanks.

 The blonde turns back to Abby, now safely clutching the staff with both hands, and smiles. "Hi mum, been a while, heh."

 The pair chuckle, and Abby steps forward to hug her daughter again, this time more calmly, her arms wrapped around her waist because it's the best she can do, what with Clarke's height and all.

 "God, I've missed you." She pulls back and lets her hands rest on Clarke's forearms, she leans back and takes in her daughter.

 "You've changed quite a bit." Abby raises an eyebrow and looks at The Heda, who was anxious about anyone who wasn't her touching Clarke.

 "Mum, it's not Lexa's fault, it's no-ones fault. It's a long story...that I'm going to tell you some other time." Abby frowns, but nods and looks into her daughter's eyes. Clarke smiles and wipes a large thumb over her cheek, careful to not scratch her with the accidentally elongated claws.

 She had learnt how to retract her claws subconsciously, like when she was lifting the humongous tree trunk, her claws jutted out even further, then when she was lying on her back about ready to pass out, they retracted and looked like normal nails, if just a little bit pointier.

 She moved her staff to the side and leant on it heavily, resting her temple against the cool smooth surface. "I need to go see Octavia, I will see you later mum." Clarke smiles down at her mother and stands straighter, clearing her throat.

 Abby smiles in reply, "I will. Make sure she does." Abby casts a pointed look towards the three behind the blonde, before turning round and ushering everyone away from the fence and gate.

 Clarke sees Abby glance over her shoulder, giving a quick smile and then getting bombarded by questions by people itching to have them answered, undoubtedly about Clarke.

 "Sooo...Octavia?" Bellamy asks, nodding his head back towards the grounder camp.

 "Yes. Before we get any more distractions or fall off task." Lexa says and grabs Clarke's elbow and dragged her forward. She could easily have just staid put, and have Lexa tug at her arm for a while, but seeing the Commander in a huff was really cute, especially when she's stomping about thinking she can pull Clarke with her by force.

 She decided to test this little theory when she saw a deer in the woods and stopped to look at it. She did feel Lexa grind to a halt noticing that she could no longer move the blonde and looked back questioningly. Clarke feigns a look of surprise and carries on, smiling to herself that she did, in fact, not move an inch.

 She looks behind her to make sure the other two are still following, they are, but are also pulling puzzled looks to Lexa's actions. Usually she'll just glide gracefully along next to you and if you stop, she'll stop and either reprimand you or remind you as to why you're walking with her.

 Clarke giggles and sighs when Octavia's tent _finally_ comes into sight.

 They spot Octavia pacing around, outside her tent. Well they say pacing, more like hobbling around attached to Lincoln's side. The blonde lights up and quickens her pace, rushing the rest of the way to make sure her friend was really as well as she seemed.

 "Octavia! Thank god you're alright." Clarke shouted, drawing the curious gazes of nearby grounders. She drops her staff, to which thumps dully on the moss covered ground and kneels down infront of the brunette, completely forgetting Lincoln at her side.

 The biggest, goofy grins spread across both their faces and they burst into laughter.

 "Um...care to explain why they're doing that?" Bellamy asks, leaning into Raven so only she hears it.

 "It's just this little thing they have where if they both get injured - whatever the injury - they recall that one time when they both fall off the table's bench at the same time because some idiot decided to spook them. They ended up flinging their food at him, and lets just say he got really humiliated." Raven smiles sweetly and turns back to the still laughing pair.

 Clarke drew the brunette in for a cautious hug, not sure on how much pressure is safe and not wanting to hurt her injured friend further.

 Octavia hugged her back, patting her shoulder awkwardly, then she suddenly pulled back, "Wait, how are you able to hug me whilst kneeling?"

 Clarke sighs. She looks for her staff which was out of reach again and looks pleadingly at Lexa, who reluctantly went to retrieve the big stick, she didn't want to leave Clarke's side, not for one minute. She picked it up with ease and Raven and Bellamy watch on in shock.

 When The Heda hands the staff to Clarke, Raven sidles up to her and squeezes her arm. She gasps and looks at Bellamy, "pssstt, she's got tonnes of muscle, it feels like she's got a piece of metal wrapped round her arm." The Commander stares blankly at Raven, wondering what the hell she's doing to her arm. She pulls it away from Raven's death grip still watching her closely for anymore concerning behaviour.

 "Oh sorry, I just, how were you able to pick it up? It weighs a tonne. I mean I'm still coming to terms with the fact that Clarke can lift a whole tree by herself but still." Lexa nods once in understanding.

 "It is the role of the Heda to obtain such muscles in order to defend herself." She leans in close to Raven. "Plus I like to look good." She winks, which was so uncharacteristic, it causes Raven to stumble backwards from the shock.

 Clarke has finally gotten up from her kneeling position and was now towering over Octavia, who was staring up at her with what looked like wonder in her eyes.

 She grins and nods towards the tent, "care if we go in, this lot are looking a bit cold." Octavia looks round Clarke's brawn and at the shivering pair talking to her Heda.

 "Come on then, I have alcohol." She grins mischievously and lets go of Lincoln to head back into the tent, clutching her sides gingerly; if it was painful she didn't express it, her smile was just too wide.

 Clarke waits for the others to enter before her, before she bends down low enough to fit under the entrance, having to lower her staff too. She feels three pairs of eyes watching her and looks up. "Guys please, I'm getting used to this... _thing_. It's embarrassing." She looks away shyly, walking to the centre of the tent and spotting Octavia's mirror.

 She stands infront of the mirror, realising she can only see her midsection and thighs she steps back until all of her body was in view.

 She sighs for what feels like the hundredth time that day and starts running her hand over scars and newly developed curves. Her shoulders had basically doubled in size, outwards and upwards, her abdomen sported a six pack so defined it could be mistaken for a six pack of cans. She looked like she'd sewn pauna arms on in replacement of her own lanky ones, the fact that rather long thick blonde hairs were sticking out of her forearms didn't help. Her jaw line had become more stocky and square and her chest was even bigger. Her boobs were tightly bound by the fabric Lexa had used and her bottom half of the fabric was barely staying upon her hips, due to the tear in it.

 Her legs were just pure muscle and her feet were covered in mud and dirt. To top it all off she was covered, from head to toe, in scars and old sutures. One of the worst, the one above her hip where the girl had dug unto her skin had warped into a jagged line. The only good thing about her new body though was that she could help out with any heavy lifting, instead of attaching ropes and wires and pulleys everywhere.

 The Commander had gotten up at some point during her inspection and stood behind her, head stuck comically out to the side of her body. She felt her hand wander up from the small of her back and come to rest on her shoulders, rubbing light circles into them. " **Klark** , you are the most beautiful person I have ever seen. Scars may mark you, but mark you as a fighter, mark you for your perseverance and determination. Muscle, in our culture, is seen as a gift from the spirits. In this instance it is the Ursa who has recognised you." Lexa's other hand trails round to Clarke's front and rests over the scar on her hipbone, Clarke's fingers intertwine with hers and they stand like that watching each other; holding each other.

 Clarke sighs contentedly then remembers the others, she cringes and looks at them but they'd gone off on their own little conversations and she sighs ... yet again, in relief. When will she stop sighing, honestly?

 " **I wouldn't want you any other way Skaiheda.** " Lexa whispers into her ear, or at least as close as she can get.

 "Yeah about that what's with the Skaiheda?" Octavia pipes up from the bed, Lexa smiles at Clarke's blush and turns to Octavia.

 "It is a custom for our people to name the Heda's chosen. The Heda before me chose one and named them the Walterheda for being excellent in a canoe and other water craft. The Heda before them chose a Heda and named them FlieHeda because they were excellent with a bow and arrow. **Klark** is named SkaiHeda because she came from the sky. They are named after their greatest trait." Lexa had moved to stand next to Clarke, fingers still laced together.

 She smiles down at the brunette and they proceed to the bed.

 Clarke settles her staff leaning against the bed's edge and she sits right next to it on an offered pillow. Lexa sits with her and she rests a hand on her exposed thigh, they smile at each other before turning to their friends.

 "So..... what've I missed?" Clarke asks which urges a giggle from Octavia and out right boisterous laughter from Raven and Bellamy.

 "Well, not much. Monroe's got a girlfriend, I've given her lots of new toys and I'm speaking massive toys like bazooka’s and rifle's and crossbows. Jasper's discovered a new tea and has found a nicer less painful way to apply herbs to wounds and Monty's been helping around, more often than not on projects of mine." Raven takes a breath, she'd just said all of that in one go.

 Clarke formed an O and looked from Octavia to Raven.

 Bellamy pipes up from beside Raven, "oh yeah, and Lexa hasn't moved from your side since the moment you got here." He smirks, but it falls away when he notices the death glare Lexa was giving him.

 "Bellamy, to you I am the Commander or The Heda, if you call me otherwise you won't see the rest of your days; and I would have informed Clarke of that at some point in private." Clarke raises an eyebrow at the exchange and turns towards Lexa.

 "I don't want a dead friend thank you. Don't worry Bell she won't act upon her words." She growls out the rest of her sentence making it well known that Lexa _won't_ be killing any friends on her watch.

 Lexa's demeanour cowers away from her warning but still manages to deliver a death glare at Bellamy before looking at her knife that suddenly became very interesting.

 Clarke rolls her eyes and looks back at her friends. "Will things change now that I'm-" She gestures to herself violently out of frustration. She holds her hand still and brings it to eye-level so the others can see it as well and slowly extends a very sharp pointy claw.

 "Woah!" Octavia exclaims and looks at her own hands. "That is sooo cool!"

 "Yeah, well you're not the one stuck like this are you?" Without meaning to she growls and she feels her gums tingle.

 "Hey, hey Clarke. Calm down, look in the mirror." Bellamy points to the mirror so she looks and almost falls over in shock. Instead of normal teeth - or at least as normal as they had looked earlier - they had grown in size, almost doubling, and her canines at least two times bigger. They had developed into white spikes.

 She brings her index finger up to a canine and prods it, hissing and pulling it away, she looks at the tip of her finger where a bead of blood was starting to form.

 The blonde's brow furrows and runs a tongue over them carefully, refraining from stabbing it as well as her finger. She watches in horror as they retract and form their usual appearance. 

 She turns shakily to the others who weren't as surprised as she thought they'd be. "Guys, what the HELL WAS THAT?!"

 Lexa rests her hand on Clarke's thigh again, "Your teeth have been doing that on and off whilst you slept, when Raven and Bellamy came in, they would happen to notice it as well."

 Octavia was just as aghast as Clarke was. "Well. It's definitely much weirder than the retracting claws," she laughs nervously and rubs the back of her neck.


	9. Hunger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choking/retching hazard? and a lot of laughter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heh...soooo bit of a sudden ending. OH well :)  
> I would highly advise not eating anything whilst reading this chapter.

 "Was that you?" Raven exclaims, watching Clarke with disbelief.

 Clarke looks away embarrassed, "Yeah" she softly whispers. But then laughter erupts from the mechanic and the blonde turns even more red. "Come on, I haven't eaten in ages."

 Another magnificent growl erupts from her stomach and they all burst out laughing, even Lexa and the sound was music to Clarke's ears. She really needs to find more ways to get her to laugh like that in future.

 "I will inform the guards of your ... avidity for food." Lexa gets up with a slight smile still plastered on her face. Leans down and whispers beside her ear, close enough to let her lips brush, " **See you later my love."** Then she steps over Clarke's staff before exiting and making sure the flap was firmly closed, so that no prying eyes could look in.

 "Soooo...wanna inform us of your *Octavia coughs* status, then?" She leans forward, careful not to knock her sides, and rests her elbows on her knees. The other two look at Clarke expectantly, eager to know what exactly was going on between her and Lexa.

 "We haven't made anything official yet, but her and her people have made me their second Heda soooo." She grins, which turns into a smile at the thought of Lexa. Considering just a few months ago she wanted to rip her throat out makes a lot of difference. Where she felt anger and pain, she feels happy and calm. She feels more relaxed and carefree, although that doesn't come with a price it was nice to bask in what little quiet she's experiencing at the moment.

 "Clarkey, Clarkey, Clarke. It's obvious you're in and you're in deep. Every time you or her set eyes on each other, the sexual tension coming from all the eye-fucking will kill us all." Raven says shaking her head, eyebrows risen.

 "WE DO NOT! I just like...looking at her, and admiring her ability to keep such a stoic face, and eyeing her jawline; I mean how can someone have a jawline t _hat perfect._ It was made for being looked at." The blonde throws her hands about in eccentric gestures, trying to get her pathetic excuse across. She gives up after a few more seconds and resorts to sulking with her arms crossed and bottom lip jutting out.

 A commotion outside draws her attention away from her friends, it was obvious only she can hear it seeing as the others were chatting animatedly amongst themselves, blissfully unaware.

 She grabs her staff and stands on shaky legs. Sitting down had given her enough replenished energy to make the journey upwards, and started towards the tent's exit. "Clarke, where are you going?" She looks over her shoulder.

 "Just to see what's happening, there are some weird raised voices outside." She turns back to the entrance and dips down enough to fit under the tent's flap.

 She straitens in time to see Indra walking off in a huff and Lexa turning to face her. " **Klark**." The corner of her mouth lilts a little to acknowledge the blonde.

 " **What has happened?"** She asks concerned, she's seen The Heda and her second fall out on many occasion but this seemed a little different.

 Lexa smiles, " **Indra disapproves of my clothed state. She believes a Heda is to walk around in full battle armour or at the very least the overcoat and mid brace**." Lexa walks towards Clarke, extending a hand to the tall sky princess.

 She takes the offered hand and brings it to her lips, kissing the knuckles there. She lets both of their hands lower and smiles at Lexa who gives an unguarded smile back.

 " **What is wrong with what you're currently wearing? I prefer to see my Commander like this**." She smiles sweetly, adding to the embarrassed or is it aroused? state of The Heda.

 The blonde leans down to whisper beside Lexa's ear, "I would prefer it more though, if they were on my tent floor." She grins devilishly and pecks her cheek innocently, trying to counteract the titillating inclination.

 The blonde smirks and turns round, clasping Lexa's hand a little harder. She's finally managing to come to sense with how strong she actually is and is adapting slowly but surely to the change.

 Octavia's tent had come within sight and she stopped just out of ear shot of the guards, one of them being Lincoln who smiles at them.

 Clarke hastily turns to Lexa and whispers, "What are we?" Lexa looks confused so she exaggerates, "As in us, are we partners? A couple? Leaders?" Lovers?

 The Heda nods and frowns, thinking of what to call them. "We are partners, I do not know as to what a couple is." Clarke smiles.

 "Okay good, good that we've established that." She turns to the tent again and holds the tent flap open, allowing Lexa to gracefully enter.

 She enters after her, barely scraping the top of her head and then straightens beside Lexa, just as she's straightening her stomach growls yet again and the guards hear it, this is obvious to the uproar of laughter easily audible from the other side of the thin fabric.

 Lexa smiles and turns to face her, "your food will arrive shortly, and so will theirs." She gestures around the tent to no-one in particular. Clarke smiles, leans down and pecks Lexa on the lips before moving back to her cushion and firmly planting her buttocks on the fluffed up fabric.

 She may have sat down a little too forcefully because all the air followed by feathers bursts out at one end. The feathers hit Lexa and she stands shocked, covered in the white and grey fabric filler.

 Clarke was the first to react, at first she was frightened she'd get into huge trouble with Lexa but then she sees a mischievous glint in her eye and starts laughing, forgetting her worries.

 "Hahhha, sorry Lexa, haha-haaaa, I'll try and sit a little more gracefully next time." By now she was crying with laughter, her friends not far behind.

 Lexa laughs along with them, amused at Clarke's not so dignified decent. She was happy about the fact that Clarke could be the 18 year old she still is, even if it was just for a few moments. She was happy they could all be the young people they still are, young and care free.

 Clarke's chuckling eventually relents and gives way to a smirk aimed at Lexa, she was still covered in feathers and it looked hilarious. She hadn't bothered to wipe the soft accumulation off, and was now sat beside Clarke, although she sat down more elegantly.

 " **Heda, your food is here.** " Called a voice from outside.

 " **Bring it in.** " Two men and a woman come in holding multiple plates of food, varying from pheasant to pigeon to magpie and even a plate of dear meat they'd managed to salvage from a previous feast.

 Clarke's stomach growled yet again at the delicious scent of food. She lurched forward from her seated position, urgently scrabbling her way to the smell's source but stopped herself after moving about an inch in the right direction.

 She frowns and collects herself, "Sorry I don't know what came over me." The blonde uttered, looking at her lap and hands. It was incredibly strange, something primal had risen in her, causing her to loose herself.

 She notices Lexa get up and go to the small table to the side of Octavia's mirror, she rummaged around on the small table's surface, then brought a miniature version of the mirror stood next to Clarke and held it so that she could see her reflection. A deep gasp resonated through the tent as she saw herself, or rather saw her eyes. They had grown larger and more dilute, her irises had changed colour from Aegean to brown and the whites of her eyes were now black. A small dot at the centre was her pupil; but as soon as she blinked Aegean eyes were back and she was left perplexed and anxious.

 The blonde looks up at The Heda, who's stood there calm as ever. "Do not worry Klark, you are still coming to terms with your new body. We undoubtedly, have more to discover about your new form." She smiles slightly and then turns back to the fidgeting chefs.

 "Place them on the table." She points to the newly cleared table. They set the plates down and back out respectfully of both their Heda's, although more out of fright than respect in the Skaiheda's case.

 "Please, eat all you wish." The Commander smiles at the tent's occupants and starts gathering food onto two plates, one for herself and the other for Clarke. She knew the blonde would struggle to get up and so had decided in advance to collect a full plate of food for her.

 There was a bit of everything on the plate, all the meats, carrots, potatoes, leeks, and took it back and sat down again next the awaiting blonde.

 "I hope it is to your liking, I had the chefs prepare a bit of everything they had."

 Clarke nods and slobbers over the food, before devouring all of the meat. By the tie she'd just about finished eating her meat the others had tucked into their own food and were eating contentedly from the bed.

 She brought a potato up to her mouth but slowed the action when she smelt it. Somehow the vegetable wasn't as appealing as it once was to Clarke, she used to love potatoes.

 The potato was brought up to her nostrils and she took in a healthy breathe, letting her sinuses be filled by the smell. It didn't smell right so she put it back down on her plate and stabbed another vegetable with her fork.

 She's managed to spear a carrot and went for it, shoving the whole thing in her mouth. She immediately regretted it and spat it back out. It was like eating dirt that tasted of oil and wood, not that she'd tried eating them before but that's what it tasted like.

 She tried the leek next, the vegetable managed to get a little further than the others before she was gaging and heaving the vegetable back up. It ended up as a squished pile next to her, a deep frown settled on her face - why can't she eat it?

 SHe felt eyes on her and looked up, they were watching her, as confused as she was, Bellamy offered a stem of broccoli to her and she gladly accepted it.

 It ended up as another squished pile next to her. However instead of heaving just enough to get the vegetable out of her system she kept heaving. Her hands dragged her forward onto her hands and knees, heaving so much it sounded more like choking than heaving.

 "Bellamy, get Abby now!" Lexa said as she knelt next to Clarke's arched form, her back bobbing up and down from the force of each heave. Raven knelt on the other side leaning down to see her face, which was contort into a pained scream.

 "I swear Clarke, if you die now-" Raven held Clarke's hair away from her now sweaty face and rubbed circles into her lower back much like Lexa was doing between her shoulder blades.

 The gagging was relenting by the time Clarke's mum got there, she had been told to grab a medical pack and hurry. She did, seeing as it was Bellamy telling her to.

 "Clarke, what has she just eaten?" she looks at The Heda, who looks down at the two small chewed piles of vegetables. Abby frowns and looks at Clarke with concern.

 "She's tried eating broccoli, leek and  carrot. She also had a whiff at potato." Clarke had almost stopped retching now and was trying to gather her breath back, taking in short sharp gasps.

 "Clarke, you need to calm your breathing. At this rate you'll start a panic attack or pass out." Abby started to breath in, indicating for Clarke to do the same, then breathed out for longer; repeating the motion multiple times until Clarke's heart rate went down - she had pressed her fingers to the side of her neck.

 "I swear if this girl doesn't keep endangering herself I'll personally see to it that she's covered from head to toe in armour and put in a cushioned room full of soft things." She huffed out.


	10. Serenty and Adgar

It had been a couple of days since the small group found Clarke intolerable to anything that wasn't meat or fish, they had yet to see if she was able to eat seeds, berries and fungi. The warmer season is yet to come and it isn't like you can just happen to stumble upon mushrooms that are edible.

Lexa had watched, painfully, from the side as Clarke slowly grew used to her new morphed form, adjusting to the weight and height.

By now she was bale to stand on her own for a good few hours without needing support, they had learnt this the hard way when Clarke was adamant about leaving her staff in her tent and walking around both camps unassisted, she had collapsed a few hours after out of sheer exhaustion and Lexa needed to grab the staff so that they could get the blonde back into Lexa's tent.

When she'd carried the staff round camp Jaha, aiming for Clarke, many Skai people were talking amongst themselves, chattering away at what it was for. After all it did look suspiciously like the torture pole she had used on Finn, even if it was much smaller in width.

Raven had been with the pair when Clarke collapsed and had stayed with her until Lexa had retrieves the staff, of course Abby had been informed of her daughters state and the reason as to why Lexa had gone to fetch the stick was purely because Raven couldn't lift it without help.

She's going to build muscles in that mechanic, if it's the last thing Lexa does.

She had slept like a log when she finally reached the bed, literally flopping onto the bed in a prostrate position. Lexa had just about gotten the covers from under the blonde and wrapped them around her, heaving her legs on as well seeing as they were hanging off the edge at the knees.

She had been passed out for a good day and a half when she finally came to, awoken by a grumbling stomach and need of the toilet.

Lexa had been outside the tent talking to Octavia and Raven when she heard the internal grumblings of the tent, as a very grumpy Clarke set about getting up to eat.

She heard something being thumped and a curse then a few more deep grumbles before she appeared at the tent's entrance, the sleepy daze that was her partner made Lexa smile, the slight frown and pout on the blonde's face bringing a smile to Lexa and ignored Octavia's gagging motion.

\- She'll have to reprimand Octavia later – but for now Clarke was up and likely to be restless for the next few hours as the past day and a half's sleep wore off.

“ **Klark** , I believe you are rather hungry after that 'nap'” Lexa grins, unafraid to show her weakness to the others, it was just those three seeing this, and by now they had gotten used to the happiness Clarke brought.

“I feel weird, I want food don't get me wrong, but like. I dunno, it's like a weird craving for something but I can't figure out what.” Clarke frowns and steps fully out into the warm sun light.

Lexa had managed to wash the blonde at one point with the help of Octavia using a wet cloth and a lot of elbow grease.

Lexa frowns as well and thinks, the Skaiprincess had regurgitated anything that wasn't meat or berries and she had the teeth, claws and eyes of a bear. If she really was part bear then she'd be wanting fresh, uncooked meat at some point.

She would probably be disgusted by the thought but they'd better try it.

“I know just the thing.” Lexa led them to the kitchens and demanded a fresh cut of dear meat they'd managed to hunt down a few hours ago. It was a good two inches thick and the size of her thigh, it was a deep crimson and it was obvious the blood had been recently drained out off the meat.

“You can't be serious, expecting me to eat that.” Clarke backed away in disgust but Raven and Octavia blocked her backward tracks whilst Lexa brought the plate closer to her.

“You must try it **Klark**. If your body is truly that alike to the Ursa then it must obtain meat in order to stay healthy.” Clarke shook her head and held her hands up, motioning for Lexa to stop.

“Lex, I cant eat raw meat, I could catch al-sorts off of it.” She then continuous to list multiple diseases and sicknesses from eating raw meat and Lexa rolls her eyes – a bad habit she'd garnered from the blonde.

“However, if my prediction is correct then you won't be any place to deny the meat any longer.” Lexa said sternly, inching closer to the Skaiheda with the meat outstretched in her hands.

Clarke reluctantly took the plate after a few more minutes of intense staring between the two and sniffed it.

A long deep exhale issued from the blonde and when she opened her eyes again, they had reverted to the Ursa's eyes; primal with desire.

She lets a low grumble and growl out before grabbing the meat and tearing a chunk off with her teeth. Lexa watched on in amusement as Clarke chewed slowly, savouring the rich taste. She had never looked more satisfied, contentment settled over her and a calmness she'd never witnessed before started pushing it's way through the air.

Raven coughed just as Clarke was finishing the piece of meat and pointed towards the kitchen's entrance.

“ **Skaiheda**?” A young girl asked, or at least sounded to be a young girl. She sounded nervous and anxious.

“ **Yes**?” Clarke called turning back to the tent's entrance after placing the plate down and wiping her mouth.

All four of them step outside and see the girl was accompanied by an even younger boy who looked to be the spitting image.

Clarke knelt down, leaning an elbow on her knee, she still towered over the children but to a lesser extent.

“… **.** **I-I, there's um….. we n-need. Help.”** The girl had started wringing her hands and the boy had hidden behind her legs, letting his brown eyes peek out from the side.

“ **What do you need help with? Little one**.” Lexa watched the interaction closely, she had never seen Clarke deal with young ones before, although she had dreamt it every so seldom.

“ **M-my mum...she's s-stuck, in a-a room. A...a room made of….um rock.”** She shyed away when Clarke stood back up, the boy cowered even further behind her legs and Lexa watched as her back muscles tensed.

“ **Where is she? Is she nearby?** ” The little girl shook her head and pointed to the mountain.

“ **She...she went in there, on t-the other-r s-side.** ” Clarke nodded and looked to Lexa.

“That's a two hour trek.I will inform some of my finest.” Clarke shook her head, and turned back to the little girl, clearly terrified.

“ **Is there a door**?” The girl shook her head again.

“ **No. Sh-she got in through a...a crack. I-it fell.”** The little girl was on the verge of tears. The little boy looked too young to fully comprehend what was happening but felt the worry cascading off of his sister.

“W **ill you help show us to your mother.** ” The little girl nodded. “ **Why don't you show me then.”** Clarke held out a hand and put on a kind smile hoping to not scare the little girl away. The girl took it, although dubiously, and started to pull Clarke forwards. Or at least tug on her hand until she went in that direction.

he blonde was bent over double in order to reach the little girls hand and by the time they reached the entrance to the camp and Clarke stopped and turned to Lexa.

***

“Can you get your finest now while I go ahead with these two.” Clarke gestured to the two next to her, they were slowly drawing closer to the blonde's legs, feeling the heat emanating from them and just general safety that Clarke gave off.

“Be safe **Klark** , and don't over exert yourself.” Lexa gave Clarke a look of warning to which the blonde rolled her eyes at.

“Yeah, yeah. See you in a bit.” Clarke turned to the two little ones by her legs and knelt down. She grinned playfully.

“ **Now, do you want to sit on my shoulders**?” The little girl stood puzzled for a moment before it dawned on her; a grin appeared and her tears started to go away. She nodded viciously and Clarke turned her back to her.

“ **What are your names?”** She felt the little girl climbing on, whilst her brother stayed put, but slowly moved closer to her legs for safety.

“ **I'm Serenty and that's Adgar.** ” Clarke smiled down at the boy who smiled back, they were both a lot calmer than earlier.

She helped the girl – Serenty the rest of the way and made sure she held on tight to her head, so that she wouldn't fall off. Clarke scooped the boy up into her free arm and grabbed her staff again.

She took her time on standing back up using the staff and once she was up she heard a gasp from behind her head. She felt and heard he little girl giggle and the blonde giggled too. **“It's high up here isn't it?** ” She asked the girl.

“ **Yeah, bird** ” Clarke saw the little girl's finger follow a bird of prey around in the sky from next to her head.

“ **Now I want you to hold on tight, okay?** **We don't want you falling off now do we?** ” Serenty quickly grabbed the side of Clarke's face again and she felt her rest her chin on top of her head, nestling into the soft waves of hair.

Clarke set off at a moderate walk, making sure the pair were warm enough, they both answered yes and snuggle further into her body. She must be warmer than she thought she was, because the two little ones were soon falling asleep and by the time Lexa and the small group of grounders had caught up to her the little Serenty was softly snoring and Adgar was fast asleep, curled into the crook of her arm.

Clarke smiled at Lexa, even sat atop her horse, Clarke was just slightly taller than Lexa. Clarke stopped and shifted the little boy in her arms so that she could hold her staff differently. “Hey.” Clarke greeted, Lexa had brought about thirteen burly looking grounders with her and they all had long metal poles attached to their saddles. “Hello. We should get there within the hour if we canter the rest of the way.” Clarke nodded and turned to look back in the direction she was originally heading.

“I will see how fast I can go, might as well try and find out how far I can push myself along the way.” Clarke grinned and bowed over, looked to Lexa, smirking, then bolting off. Staff held level to the ground, the little girl naturally held on tighter in her sleep.

She heard the horses hooves behind her and could hear them catching up.

Lexa just pulled ahead and started idle chat with Clarke as she ran alongside the graceful beast that Lexa sat atop. “Are you tiring yet?” Clarke grinned and shook her head.

“Nope, I feel like a I could do this all day.” and it was true, she didn't even feel out of breath; considering she was exhausted from a mere stroll a day ago.

They eventually had to slow down and come to a complete stop when they came across a river. It was about fifteen metres across and looked to be about three foot deep.

Clarke looked to The Heda and tested the water with her foot. It was relatively cool, but not unbearable. She smiled and raise the boy higher so that the kids didn't get wet.

“I will go first Heda.”

She took two steps in and almost fell over if she hadn't have used the staff. The stones under the water, were smooth from the water erosion, they were also slippery from algae and moss. The water came to just over half way up her thighs.

She reached the other side and turned to the others, gesturing for them to follow; they would have done anyway whether Clarke had said to or not and with a few large splashes and neighs later they all stood on the other side.

“Would you like a cloth Klark?” She smiles and nods, moving closer to her horse.

“Could I give the children to you?” The Heda nodded and reached out for the two little ones, taking Adgar first and then his sister. Clarke was handed a cloth which she took gratefully.

 " **We are almost there, you will need to wake the girl soon.** " Clarke nodded and took the children back, making sure Serenty had a tight hold on her head before taking Adgar.

 Clarke turned back to the mountain, which was looming ominously over them from above, a clear path way had been trodden into the forest floor infront and Clarke sighed, not wanting to go into the nightmarish pile of rock.


	11. Their mother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How's their mum doing? Will Clarke end up with yet another burden to carry, and is Lexa supportive enough to help?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I realised I hadn't actually technically posted chapter 10 until earlier, so..two chapters in one night aye? It was a weird thing my laptop did, where it'd saved it to drafts instead of the actually story bu oh well who cares not me, well I would have done if it had deleted it entirely but meh.

 Watching Clarke carry the children did things to Lexa, things like the need to protect - but that was always there, even if she denied it -, and the need to provide. It was urging her into the most primal of instincts all because two small beings are being held by Clarke, The Ursa, her love.

 They were at the back entrance to the mountain now, and it wasn't as heavy and clunky looking as the front, but it did have a certain finesse about it, to make it seem like it could withstand an apocalypse.

 Clarke gently shook the girl, Serenty's, leg to wake her. She had been fast asleep almost all the way through the journey and had drooled down the blonde's forehead. It was cute the way she snorted awake, groggy from sleeping whilst she lifted her head to look round.

 " **Where is she little one**?" Clarke asked, as she herself peered round trying to identify anything out of the ordinary.

  **"Through that row of trees, then round the corner.** " She stated, she was very calm for a little girl, who had to look after her little brother and worry about her mother.

 Clarke started in the tree's direction, and the girl had to suddenly grab on very firmly to the blonde's hair to keep from falling off.

 A few long strides later from Clarke and the horses following, and they came to what appeared to be a blank bolder climb. It reached all the way up the side of the mountain and trees lined both sides, almost like a land slide had happened. The ground at the foot of the boulders appeared to be recently disturbed and a deep blue cloth had obviously torn off of something and now hung freely off a bush branch.

 The girl pointed to the boulders on the far right where a few trees had been squashed by the stone and the boulders still had mud plastered to their faces.

 "Clarke, I will get my grounders to clear what they can, keep the children away and if their mother comes into view, and she's not well make sure to not let them see." The Commander stayed in English so the children wouldn't comprehend what she as saying, after all they were young and she may scare them with her words.

 She gave her grounders orders and they all dismounted. They retrieved the metal poles they'd acquired before leaving and started levering boulders and rocks out of the way; soon the concrete face of the mountain's base was coming into view bit by bit.

 Eventually there were just a few boulders left, about the size of the Heda's tents, they were the only thing stopping them from proceeding to rescue Serenty and Adgar's mother.

 The small group did try and force the rocks out of the way, but to no avail. The Heda looked back to Clarke, who had sat herself down on a raised bit of ground, the kids sat in the centre of her legs watching on in awe at the power of her grounders.

 The Commander minced over to Clarke and crouched, leaning her elbows on her thighs. She gazed at Clarke, at how she can be both beautiful and handsome at the same time. " **My Skaiheda, we cannot move the last stones. I would greatly appreciate it if you helped my people move them**." Clarke opened her mouth to say something but Lexa cut her off, "I will look after the children." She smiles ever so slightly at the protective glint in Clarke's eyes.

 Clarke starts moving trying to get up, but before she can even pull herself into a crouch, Lexa had leaned in to kiss her, a chaste peck on the lips, but a kiss non the less causing a faint tint to reach Clarke's cheeks.

 The Sky princess manages to get up with aid from her staff, all the while grinning at the quick peck Lexa had given her. The little girl clung to her leg and she reached down to pat her head. **"I will be back Serenty, look after your brother and Lexa will look after you**." She said, making sure to use her name to make her appear less intimidating.

 The girl nods and grabs her brother's hand, walks over to Lexa, stops infront of her and plonks herself down, facing away from the boulders. She picks up a stick and starts swirling patterns into the soft ground. The Heda looks up and gives a nod, so Clarke turns around cracking her knuckles, and rolling her shoulders; preparing for the task at hand.

 The grounders don't cower away as much when she nears them, which is good especially when she's got her hands behind her head, twined together causing the muscles to bulge from the strain.

 She rolls her head and braces herself to one side of the closest boulders, it towered over her by at least three feet and it's width was four times that of Clarke side by side. She throws her staff to one side and squats, aiming to get a firm grip on the under side of the face, she grunted and pulled.

 The mass of stone shifted slightly, inching it's way onto another face. It eventually fell from centrifugal force and landed with a loud thump and shaking of the ground. She grinned at Lexa, showing off her raw power and then set about moving the next boulder, resolution running through her veins.

 She got onto her third, which was balanced precariously on two others. She had to clamber up one of the trees, onto another rock and then finally on top of the third, she inspected the lee way with which she'd need to safely roll it into and told the grounders at the base of the rocks to go stand by her Heda.

 They did as instructed and she carried on inspecting how to set about actually manoeuvring the boulder without causing herself any damage. She found leverage just behind the nearest face and braced herself horizontally against the exposed concrete, running horizontally to the rock. This boulder, was particularly large and took more time to move. After a few minutes of grunting and straining, and further tearing of her already torn clothes, - she needs to make a mental note to get them sewn so that she just has to button them up instead of repeating the very long process of Lexa wrapping her in them.

 With a loud crash, as it hits rocks on it's way down and a whoop from the blonde, the caved-in entrance came into view.

 The Heda sent seven of her warriors in to aid the blonde, whilst she waited behind with the last nine and the children; the little boy had fallen back to sleep in the crook of her arm and the little girl had drawn many eccentric patterns in the dirt, seems like Clarke and her had something in common.

 She'd often seen the blonde drawing or sketching in her free time when she was stressed, or over loaded, or even for pure entertainment.

 *** 

 They had been wandering the cramped corridor for mere seconds when one of the men spotted something out of the ordinary. They gathered round the object and Clarke crouched trying to get a better look from her already bent over position.

 It was a handle of some sort, it was bound leather with metal studs in the top, the rest of it disappearing behind another mass of rocks. Smaller ones this time and they were able to move them in record time, what with having the Ursa helping them.

 Having moved all the debris, the handle being slowly revealed to lead to what appeared to be a shaft. It ended abruptly, having had the end snapped off, which was splintered a little further from the shaft itself. The door way, from which they removed the rocks and debris was barely supported but it held firm enough for them to venture past, it lead into a small stone walled room.

 One of the grounders lit a torch and held it out for them to see, Clarke only just realising her eyesight was more advanced than the others to the extent that she could clearly define anything within seven metres in the pitch black. She smiled to herself, and found it very useful knowledge to have.

 "Over there." One of the women pointed to a crumpled figure off to one side in the centre of the room, a large pool, deep in colour, had formed around it.

 Two grounders approached gingerly not knowing what to expect, they stopped half way and Clarke rolled her eyes. She walked forward sighing, stormed past the two grounders and knelt at the warped pile of cloth. A hand was clearly visible, poking out the side of the mound, she followed it up and found where the figure's head would, and hopefully should be.

 Uncovering the cloth, she had to restrain the urge to cry, she had expected to see an old, weathered, disfigured face, but no; it was a youthful pretty face, eyes closed and mouth slightly ajar, a large ribbon of blood had streaked down her forehead and Clarke thought that must have been how the deep crimson puddle had formed. She looked over her shoulder at the group and shook her head.

 "Go inform The Heda, we've found her but that she is no longer with us. Be weary of what you say around the children." She covered the head again and stood, turning as she did so.

 "And tell her to keep the children out of sight while I remove the body." Three of them gave a sharp nod and turned on their heal, walking briskly to inform their Heda of the children's mum.

 She looked solemnly towards the last four then turned back to the clothed mass on the floor, she sighed and knelt down scooping the bundle up, making sure she was covered in the excess cloth before turning back round and slowly walking back to the entrance.

 She managed to get outside and place the body over the back of one of the horses and went to speak to The Commander, who now held to fast asleep children with her warriors surrounding her in a protective circle.. "I shall carry the children ahead of you, I will find out if they have any relatives and gently inform them of their mum." Lexa looks on solemnly as Clarke explains what she'll do.

 " **Klark, in our culture it is tradition for relatives to disown their children once they have children of their own. You will not find any to whom, are able or are wiling to care for them, who aren't their other parent**." Clarke saddens considerably more and nods, she is, after all, still learning about the grounder ways and traditions.

 "I shall wake Serenty then, I'll ask her if she had a father or mother." Lexa nods and gently passes the sleeping girl over to Clarke, who now sat cross legged at the centre of the circle with Lexa and Adgar.

 She could easily fit the girl along the length of her forearm and shook a hand to wake her. She did after a few moments and blinked blurry eyes. Clarke smiled down at her.

 " **Is your mother the only parent**?" The girl furrowed her brow, thinking about her answer for a few seconds, clearly not very awake. She shook her head in the end.

 " **Yes, my mother died of a disease ages ago. Mum, has raised us on her own since then**." The little girl yawned and snuggled further into Clarke, taking in the heat of the older girl. It was growing dark and that would mean the cold, breezes and unwanted attention on behalf of animals and rejects.

 Clarke looked up to Lexa, meeting her gaze. "We shall discuss this further, when we are back at camp." Lexa stated before promptly taking Serenty back into her arm while Adgar occupied the other. This allowed Clarke to get up. She had left her staff near the entrance and waddled over to get it - it's going to be a while before she gets used to her new height.

 On the way back, their formation was much like it had been on the way there, if only with Clarke ahead a couple of metres. The Commander had demanded she be closer to the pack than the blonde intended at first, but then she eventually relented and agreed to walk within canter distance if worst comes to the worst. She had in fact reasoned that it better she go ahead, what with her exceptional eyesight to see where they trod, after all traps were common in these parts.

 It was safe to hold the children while she did it because if anything did happen, she'd be able to get away much faster than the others with the aid of eyesight and ability to just demolish anything standing in her way.

 Clarke glanced back seeing the grounders slowly drawing further away from her, and slowed her pace, not wishing to pull too far ahead with no idea of how to get back.

 She had narrowly avoided a panji trap and echoed the warning back to the group so they could avoid any injured horses. They were drawing closer to the camp now; this was due to the fact that the sun had set and the sky was now a deep blue, a faint glow just about distinguishable in the distance over the hill.

 They made it back with haste, and were greeted by shouts of 'HEDA' and 'SKAIHEDA' have returned's. She greeted them with smiles, but didn't feel it reach her eyes as she now held two orphans and the body of their mother.

 Lexa dismounted and walked close to Clarke, "Go to my tent, sleep well." With that she swiftly turned and headed to the horse with the deceased woman on it. Undoubtedly planning on giving her a proper send off.

 She sighed and turned back to the tent, then looked down at Adgar in her arms, she quickly grabbed Serenty, feeling she was about to slide off one way or another and cradled them both in her arms.

 She didn't unclothe and just propped her staff against the bed's edge before flopping down onto the bed, which groaned in protest, with the children, and pulling the furs up as high as possible to keep the chilled night air out. She lay there, spread out like a star, her arms curled around the two tiny bodies in comparison to her and let her eyelids bend shut.

 At some point she had brought one of the kids up and over the top of her, cradling them both infront of her, while she lay on her side.

***

 Lexa came in a few hours later, after having given the woman a complete send off, to the sight of her love cradling the children, all three sleeping deeply, a light snoring coming from the blonde.

 She smirked to herself and disrobed, she had never slept in clothes and she will never plan to. She climbed in, making sure the cool air didn't get under the covers, infront of Clarke, and smiled even more so and a big padded hand reached out to lay on her waist.

 She folded her arms infront of her and curled round the children, she had never thought of having children, the role as Heda was a such a large task that she thought she'd not have time to bring offspring up. Then again, she never thought she'd feel love again, to love and receive love. She had promised herself no more after Costia, but then Clarke happened and her walls had been smashed down bit by bit with each moment spent with the blonde.

 To say she was content was an understatement, although unexpected, it was still gladly accepted.

 She smiled once more, letting out a long sigh before joining the other three in sleep, the sound of Clarke's light snoring and the two little ones even deep breathes lulling her to sleep.


	12. Pauna comes to town

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's all the yelling about so early in the morning. Clarke just wants to sleep. And quite a bit of fluff and banta

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the past chapter and this chapter are a little shorter than normal, but oh well. :) THe idea of Clarke getting hurt in this chapter came from the lovely maisyclarkson. Thank you.

 " **HEDA! HEDA**!" Clarke tries valiantly to escape her dazed, sleepy form; trying to get up and over to the tent's entrance.

 It has been about two weeks now, and she'd finally gotten used to her new body, although still a little wobbly. She had started training with her staff - they come in useful, plus it's kind of badass swinging a big stick round hitting everybody over with such precision and grace....or at least when someone else does it, she's not quite at that level yet.

 She finally fully opens her eyes, to see The Heda's retreating form and the brown hair of Adgar. They were coping well with the loss of their mum, and the blonde kind of has a soft spot for them, letting them clamber onto her and fall asleep. This morning's position for them was Clarke spread eagled from corner to corner of the custom made bed, star-fishing enough for her hand to hang off the edge. Adgar had curled up on her chest, face smooshed into the crook of her neck whilst Serenty was attached to her forearm. She can vaguely remember Lexa being curled into her side, legs wrapped round the thigh of her own and hands clutched onto her arm.

 She had finally gotten her 'shorts' and 'crop top' sorted out, having had buttons and toggles and stitches, making it easier for her to dress; courtesy of Raven. She now sleeps in a nightgown and shorts, which were carefully crafted by Octavia, in other words too ugly to where outside. Her nightgown came down to her mid calves and had three buttons at the top, making it easier to slide on and off, just 'cause.

 She was shaken fully awake by a horrendous roar, it shook the bed and everything on it. A couple of shouts sounded and answered by another roar.

 She shot up, Adgar rolling off her chest and Serenty grumbling. She picked them up, one in each arm and then stood up, searching for her clothes. They were discarded over in the corner and she traversed to the tent's corner and sat down, carefully sitting the children up against her thighs. She just about managed to get her nightgown off and her 'crop top' on before another teeth rattling roar echoed through the camp.

 She sighed and ignored her bottom halves, deciding on seeing what the hell was going on outside. She picked the children up again and shot outside.

 The Heda's tent was relatively easy to find, it had been moved closer to Octavia's tent and to the unoccupied area between camp Jaha and itself. She could easily detect the problem and rolled her eyes. - of course a pauna's charging about in that small confined space, wreaking havoc on everything.

 She grabbed the nearest grounder jogging past her and asked the situation. " **What's happened**?" The man shook his head.

 " **A pauna has appeared, it came undetected. Now the Heda has gotten involved and it's helped distract it, but not by much**." The Skaiheda thanked the man and carried on toward the entrance, or what could pass as an entrance.

 She spots Lexa fly past her, running in the opposite direction to the great beast whilst it chases her. Clarke grins at her and then steps back a little to not appear threatening to the angered animal. It chased her round a few laps, whilst being shot at by grounders hidden in the trees. Clarke even laughs at one point, even if it's a dire situation, it was just plain old funny.

 She finds Octavia amongst part of the crowd and passes the children to her, who were now wide awake, watching their Heda being run ragged. It wasn't just the whole of the grounder camp watching on any more, the commotion had brought many Skai people to the electrified fence too, and they couldn't decide whether to look shocked, horrified or humoured.

 "Look after them, I may be a while." Octavia grins at her, Clarke turns back to the hilarious display, shouting to The Commander. " **WHEN I SAY COME HERE, COME TO ME**!" The Heda nods, keeping her stoic mask on. She didn't want to appear weak, she wasn't weak, she isn't scared that the great beast behind could possibly tear her to shreds in a matter of seconds, no, she was terrified, terrified about what her Skaiheda was planning on doing.

 Clarke minces about past people and trees, until she was at the forest's entrance where no-one else was. She cracks her knuckles waiting for Lexa to get within distance.

 " **ALRIGHT, COME HERE**!" She bellows, making sure the brunette had definitely heard her over the pauna's thumping and roaring. Lexa turns, trusting Clarke's judgement and runs straight towards her, the looming figure followed suit. It was about seven metres behind her now, just enough time.

 Lexa reaches the blonde, who then scoops her up and placing her on a branch out of reach, she steps forward and braces herself, arms stretched out, crouched low leaning forward.

 The beast's confused for a second, a second long enough for Clarke to grab it's flailing limbs and stop it dead, her feet are pushed back into the dirt as she strains even more from the force from being run into by a seven tonne muscle tank.

 It snarls at her and bares its teeth, trying to bite her, but she keeps it at arm's length, it's breath making her want to pass out. She roars back and then silence. The onlookers watch on with bated breath, the pauna's huffing and growling and Lexa's tense about the head to head fight happening right beneath her.

 Clarke growls and pushes forward, forcing the mutant gorilla back a step, it seems to anger it, it takes it's anger aboard and starts struggling. It eventually breaks free and stand there glaring at her about three metres away. Clarke laughs once, thinking of a name to call it. "Hey Lex, shall we call it Mr grumpy boots?" She hears an answering laugh behind her and she grins.

 She crouches again and steps forward once, twice, thrice until she's right in it's face. It seems defeated at one point, but then it hunches over and launches itself at Clarke, knocking her over onto her back; she's trying to keep it away from her face as it's writhing about on-top of her. It's hand breaks free from the blonde's death grip and aims a fist at her head, she moves in time, leaving a deep crater where her head would have been.

 She grabs the hairy arm and pushes up, twisting as she did so. She manages to snap the arm and a howl echoes from the beast.

 Her face had fallen from amused to weighty, this was more serious now and if she keeps joking about she won't last much longer. The pauna swivels back round to face her, holding it's now dangling arm to it's body.

 She bares her teeth and the animal mimics her, it lunges again and is more successful in injuring her. Or at least winding her, she hits her head on the ground and she's dazed for a few seconds, a few seconds too long by which time the mutant had wrapped it's healthy hand round her throat and was now smashing it up and down into the ground. Her windpipe was slowly crushing and if she didn't do anything she'd surely die.

 She spies her chance when she spots a rock off to one side, she reaches for it, grabs it and smashes it into the animal's temple. It's rendered dazed and she takes the chance to tuck her feet to it's abdomen, pushing up with as much force as she can muster and sending it hurtling to the other side of the clearing. She takes the chance to replenish her breath and send a reassuring smile up to Lexa, who looks slightly lees worried now that she's definitely _not_ dead.

 She shakily gets back onto her feet and spies the animal stirring as well. "COME ON GRUMPY! YA SOD!" she yells as she charges towards it. She misplaces her foot and she slips, the mud carrying her almost all the way there, the gorilla spots it's chance and grabs her leg.

 She yelps from the sudden jerk forward and desperately grabs onto the passing ground. It lifts her up, dangling her in mid air for a minute or two seeing it's new play thing writhing about. It gets angry when she kicks at it's face and brings her crashing down to earth.

 She hears a crunch as her leg's crushed beneath the things great paw, but she doesn't register the pain from the adrenalin coursing through her body.

 Her hand finds a nice pointy stick - that just so happens to be lain next to her - and brings it up to it's head. The stick impales it through it's eye to about half way before it's jerking head movements snap the end off. It stumbles about for a minute more before Clarke is able to collect herself and launch herself at it's back from her good leg and arms. She locks it's head in the crook of her elbow, effectively cutting off it's windpipe. It takes a few seconds for the loss of oxygen to take effect and it falls forward, sending shudders through the ground.

 She's laid there panting to herself, as the onlookers register what's just happened. The Heda's the first to react and is by Clarke's side in seconds checking everywhere for injury. Her leg is obviously broken, seeing as it was at three different angles and her leg was starting to pulse, throbbing away.

 She slides off grumpy with an oof and smiles, " **Well. That's grumpy taken care of**." Lexa laughs and throws her arms round Clarke's neck, so relieved she had survived. Clarke laughs and brings a big bloodied hand up to the small of Lexa's back. In that moment it was just them, no-one else, not the onlookers, not the now dead pauna just them with Lexa's hand in the soft curls at the back of Clarke's neck, sobbing into her neck.

 Her leg is starting to really hurt now and Clarke winces when she moves it. The Heda immediately pulls back, stoic mask back in place, even if it is disrupted by the wet cheeks and puffy, red eyes. A slow clap issued from the crowds and others join in. The air was eventually filled with whoops and cheers for their Skaiheda, who single handedly, bare handedly took down the greatest beast they had ever known.

 After a good agonising ten minutes, Clarke's leg is eventually brought to attention when she yelps from her mother poking and prodding at it.

 "Operation is indefinite, I don't think it'll need amputation and they're clean breaks." Clarke nods along with what her mother was saying. Lexa stands next to her, she's propped up by a large pole, shoved into the ground at an angle so that she could rest. "However, you are too heavy to take anywhere or even if we could you'd break the medical tables." Clarke's face fell until The Heda perked up beside her.

 "I can have my grounders construct a tent round her and place furs and blankets down." Clarke smiles at Lexa, her hand had found it's way to the blonde's shoulder and it gave a reassuring squeeze as Abby nodded in agreement.

 "Yes, that'll do, if you can bring her staff and five of your strongest, then we can get started." Abby stood up and jogged away, getting all the surgical implements she required whilst Lexa stayed by Clarke shouting orders. She ushered Octavia and the children over.

 "Keep them safe, don't let them anywhere near here. I will come to them in time." Octavia nodded to her Heda's command and walked away with Adgar peering over shoulder whilst Serenty held tightly onto her hand, looking over her own shoulder. Clarke waved to them and they smiled and waved back.

 They had become incredibly close over these past two weeks, and it'd break her if anything was to happen to them. Lexa found this out the hard way when she suggested that they were incapable of bringing children up. Clarke had seen red and gone round the training arena smashing everything and stomping over everything, until The Heda had apologised. Even then she was still grumpy a good few hours afterwards.

Whatever Clarke wanted she got, who was she to refuse her Skaiheda's commands. If she requested the brunette to set the forest on fire she would without hesitation.

 The grounders had moved swiftly and efficiently, constructing the tent round their Heda's and going about it discreetly whilst they had small talk about whatever they could.

 Clarke had started digging her fingers and claws into the dirt beneath her, clenching her jaw from the pain, now racking her leg. The adrenalin was wearing off and leaving unimaginable pain behind. It got so bad that she almost passed out. Her muscles too tense to be comfortable and her eyes squeezed shut.

 "Fuck, it hurts so much Lex'." She groaned out, she was starting to take in short sharp breaths making her feel light headed. Good, she wanted to pass out, she couldn't bare this pain much longer. But however badly she wanted to fall unconscious, the soothing hand, drawing patterns into her back wouldn't let her.

 She cracked an eye open when her mother re-entered and set a load of tools down beside her. "Right Clarke, I'm going to give you morphine, we have rations but seeing as you class as two people, I've had to get twice the dose." She filled a humongous needle with the clear fluid and flicks the top. Clarke held her breath and turns her head away not liking the needle.

 She stretches her arm out and feels the prick enter her skin. A horrible sensation but the medicine takes effect instantly, the sharp pangs of pain had now dulled to a deep throbbing and she was able to obtain a calmer breathing pattern.

 "Can you shuffle backwards, my people have laid down furs and blankets." Lexa gestured behind the blonde, who then takes it upon herself to shuffle ungracefully behind her, feeling the soft furs under hand; she lays down in the centre and Lexa drapes a blanket over her, it only reaches to the middle of her thighs, but right now her legs feel like they're on fire.

 Abby stretches her leg out. "Commander, could you stay up at her head please and make sure she doesn't pass out." Seeing as they didn't have the proper equipment to keep Clarke under, they're going to have to do it the old fashioned way.

  She set to work on her leg, opening the leg up and pulling bones into their designated places. Clarke could only feel the tugs and shoves from her mother, the morphine had completely blocked her nerves for now and she was grateful her mother took it upon herself to give her more than the average ration.

 Lexa sat there, with Clarke's head in her lap, talking to her - in Trigadsleng of course - making her blush some times, and laugh others. At some point her thumb had found it's way to her cheek and was stroking careful lines into the pale cheeks beneath her.

 Abby had nearly finished the third break when feeling suddenly shot back into Clarke's leg. She screamed and shot upright, she could feel everything within her leg and it was agonizing. She kept screaming, and screaming, and screaming clutching at the furs and tearing them by accident. Abby had stopped but it still hurt and she was now rolling about from the pain.

 " **GUARDS IN**!" The Heda shouted, about seven came in and took in what was happening. One paled at the state of Clarke's leg, whilst the others swarmed the blonde. " **Hold her down**." She growled out, though reluctant to cause her love any more pain, she couldn't make Abby stop now, not now they're so close to finishing.

 Lexa pinned her shoulders down, whilst two took to her arms and leg whilst the last sat on her stomach and placed his hands at the apex of Clarke's thigh. Clarke's screaming was now growling and roaring and her eyes, fangs and claws kept shifting.

 "HURRY UP ABBY!" She shouted, Abby nodded and proceeded with the operation. She just needed to place a plate in and then stitch it up, no big deal, no, not with a five tonne beef cake writhing about and trying to tear her restrainers to shreds.

 Lexa was about ready to explode, when Abby yelled a 'DONE' at the top of her lungs and everyone sprang away from Clarke, apart from Lexa. She kept caressing the blonde's cheek although it was a completely fruitless exercise. The Skaiheda tore even more at the furs and blankets beneath her, shouting and yelping, holding her leg up and off the ground.

 The blonde stopped writhing suddenly, and Lexa looked down to see Clarke had passed out. A tear escaped her from the hurt of watching her blonde in so much pain. **"OUT** , leave us." She leant her forehead down onto Clarke's and took big shuddering breaths, calming her racing, broken heart as the others exited. 

 After a good couple of minutes calming down, she set about cutting off the furs covered in blood from around the blonde and went to retrieve a blanket, Abby had graciously placed one just on the inside of the tent's flaps when checking on them.

 She covered Clarke with them, and sat back down so that the blonde's head rested on her legs. She rested her cheek on her hand, her elbow on her knee hunched over Clarke; her other hand gently stroking the reddened cheeks of her love. "If only you knew how much I love you Clarke of the Skai people." She sighed and carried on stroking the pale cheek until she fell asleep, hunched over her, snoring lightly along with the blonde.


	13. Woah, hold the fluff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay so, I'm trying to get a chapter solely based on fluff and it should be...hopefully....can't promise though :) Lots of Clexa and Clexa with kids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKay, so, this crap's even shorter than the previous chapter, but fluff like you asked for.

 The low throbs in her leg were what woke her up, slightly confused as to why there was even a dull throb there in the first place.

 When she managed to make sense of the past day's happenings, fighting the pauna, the morphine wearing off, then...oh then she passed out; she was able to pry her weighted eyes open and see the snoozing face of The Heda, drooling lightly, snoring softly and her head about to fall off her hand. Clarke giggled and reached a heavy limb up to wake the sleeping commander.

 The blanket caught on her hand and she frowned, she hadn't had that there earlier; it made the blonde realise just how sweet Lexa actually was, even though she prefers to look like the strong bad girl and not the big softy Clarke had come to know and love.

 She traced Lexa's jawline and it's effect was instantaneous. The sleeping girl awoke with a start, looking up and around for a threat, stopping when the giggles issued from the blonde made her look down. She smiled back and they stared for a few minutes, just content to be in each others presence.

 "Lexa?" The brunette hummed and started brushing her fingers through the blonde's hair. Her cheeks tinted red and Lexa wondered what it was that was making her skin that colour.

 "What...what are we? You mentioned in passing, that I was your partner, but it doesn't sound right." Lexa nodded and thought for a moment, she had thought over what they were but she decided it was for the blonde to decide. But they weren't lovers, for definite, although she really wanted to be they just hadn't had the chance to do anything farther than kiss.

 "It is whatever you desire Clarke." Clarke looked away, moving her gaze to the tent's ceiling, her cheeks tinting deeper.

 "Do you know what a girlfriend is?" Lexa squinted in thought for a minute, trying to recall what Octavia had said about her and Lincoln; something along the lines of being described as what you call a female partner.

 "It is the name given to the female partner." Clarke looked at her nodding, Lexa had checked to make sure she'd gotten it right.

 "Wellll......will you be my girlfriend? I would have chosen a better time, but fate doesn't really like me so." Lexa laughed, Clarke smiled too, at the fact she had just made The Heda make that sound.

 "Yes Clarke, I would love to be your girlfriend." Clarke grinned and tried to lean up to kiss her new girlfriend, the key word being tried here, her exhaustion prevented her from doing too much and her leg obviously causing discomfort as she moved. So Lexa leaned down, and took the blonde's lips in her own humming in content.

 Clarke pulled away after a few minutes, feeling slightly out of breath from the passion with which Lexa put into the kiss. "Why is it, that I seem to have the worlds worst bad luck?" Lexa frowned not understanding the Skaiheda's question.

 "Bad luck?" Clarke nods, further extending her thoughts.

 "Yeah, I'm constantly being sewn back together or recovering from something one way or another." The Heda laughs.

 "Not so much bad luck, as to not get me too, I hope?" Clarke panics and shakes her head no-ing at the thought that Lexa was bad luck.

 "No! You are the best thing that has ever happened to me Lex', like when someone falls into a deep pond and can't swim and then they see a log and cling to it. You're my log Lex'." They both chuckle at the comparison and Lexa leans down again to kiss her, but only a light peck this time.

 "I must go see how Serenty and Adgar are doing. I left them with Octavia." Lexa makes to get up.

 "Wait, before you go, can you bring another pelt in and bring the children as well, I want to see them." Lexa nods once then walks to the tent's entrance.

 "Don't be long." She sounded weak and small, not wanting to show vulnerability but also not wanting Lexa to leave her side in her state of vulnerability.

 Lexa sent a reassuring smile over her shoulder to the blonde, before exiting and going to Octavia's tent to find the children.

***

 "Octavia? Are you in?" Although The Heda was Commander and could do anything she wanted, she didn't like to intrude on her people, this helps keep the Heda and their people at peace and not make them disliked.

SHe hears a yell and a giggle from the other side, telling her that yes, they're in. She calmly steps through the tent flap and stops upon it's contents. Clothes were strewn about left right and centre, draws had been pulled out and in the middle of the mess sat three very exhausted, but ultimately elated bodies. Octavia was currently struggling under the two tiny, writhing bodies above her wrestling them both at the same time and failing.

 It brings a smile to Lexa's lips, which washes away not soon after, the younger girl having spotted it and now grinning herself at seeing her Commander's reaction to the two little people.

 She laughs, "Okay, off. Your Heda's here, don't disgrace her." The kids stop and stand up, faces suddenly straight as boards, backs stiff and heads bowed in respect, The Heda bows back. Octavia slowly getting to her feet and bowing her own head, further than the two stood infront of her, she however is still grinning.

 "Can you three accompany me?" It came out intended as a question, letting them have some leeway but it still sounded like an order and she cursed her internal dialogue for letting it happen, she was after all, being Clarke's messenger of sorts.

 "Of course Heda. Let me just put warmer clothes on these two before we leave." Lexa nods and skulks back towards the tent's entrance, intent on watching Octavia with, who are effectively, her and Clarke's children.

 After a few more giggles and squeals the two little ones are finally dressed appropriately and are heading towards Lexa. Octavia bows her head again, placing her hands on the children's backs.

 "Octavia, retrieve a large pelt, large enough for Clarke, and get Abby as well." Octavia nods, and jogs past them and out of the tent. She looks down to Serenty and Adgar who are looking up in amazement, again. She smiles down at them and she's answered with twin grins of their own.

 She crouches down to their level, looking into their eyes as Adgar speaks, "Will we see mu-Clarke now?" Lexa smiles at the slip up and nods. "Yay!! he flings his arms round her neck and clings tightly as Lexa stands back up, letting the boy dangle from around neck like a monkey. She smiles down at Serenty and offers a hand for her to take, which she does. Her other arm now occupied by a little wriggling bum.

 She takes them out of the tent and is greeted by looks of shock, especially Indra who actually looks disgusted. No matter how long the children have been with her and Clarke, she's still repelled by the thought of her Heda having children.

The Commander gives her second a stern glare, making her back off and bow her head, retreating away from the irritated brunette. She feels a tug on her hand and sees Serenty point towards where Clarke fought the pauna. "Clarke, Clarke!" She shouted excitedly. "She was soo cooolll." She enthusiastically yelled, drawing a few heads to look in their direction, they smile to themselves not letting their Heda see, otherwise a firm reprimanding would be in place.

 "Heda, I have the furs, Abby is on her way." She turns to see Octavia jogging back towards her, wielding a humongous pile of furs and panting from it's weight.

 She nods and heads towards Clarke's tent with Octavia in tow.

 They enter,and they hear a surprised gasp. Clarke had managed to sit herself up and was inspecting her leg. Lexa noticed the fingers trailing over the new scars and saddened - of course she'd want to see what they looked like, undoubtedly going to say how ugly they make her when they're alone, or degrade herself for something that can't be helped.

 Clarke's face brightened immediately upon seeing the two children however, and held her arms wide, expecting a hug from them. Adgar's squirming almost made Lexa drop him completely, but managed to right her arm in time to keep him in a safe embrace whilst Serenty jumped into the waiting arms; she finally manages to put Adgar down and watches on amused as they group tackle her, bowling the blonde over, either from Clarke being a big softy or she's just too tired to stay upright.

 A deep, bellowing laugh escapes Clarke, and it's the happiest she's sounded in months. The last time being, when they were celebrating before they crushed the mountain men and they attended respectfully as the leaders of their clans, or camps if you're being picky.

 Octavia stands next to Lexa and whispers, loud enough for only The Heda to hear. "Your future is going to be amazing. You've got your girl, you've got kids, albeit unexpectedly and a long life to live with them." She lets her guard down and hums in agreement with Octavia, whilst they watch the scene before them unfold as they all deflate and eventually settle into snores.

 Lexa turns to Octavia, "Thank you Octavia, I doubt Clarke would have made it this far without a friend like you and Raven." She reaches for the furs and takes them gratefully. Octavia turns and leaves leaving Lexa on her own with the sleeping three behind her, her three favourite people.

 A quiet ahem, draws her attention back outside, away from the snoring and she steps out to find Abby stood there with her medical kit. She stands expectantly, arms crossed, bag dangling from the hand tucked under her armpit.

 "Abby, thank you for coming." Lexa had returned to her stoically formal self in the presence of Clarke's mother.

 She raises an eyebrow at the Commander and proceeds towards the tent's entrance. Lexa steps aside and follows in after the older Griffin. She stops and The Heda walks up to stand by her side, noting the small smile on her face.

 "It's quite the family you've got going here, I hope you won't destroy her again, like you did on the mountain." It was short and curt, but it did it's job in making Lexa feel intimidated and weary around Abby. 

 "I would not wish any more pain upon Clarke, she is my love; but my people come first in any situation, unfortunately that meant hurting your daughter whilst answering their wishes." Abby squints at the girl, dubious about her intentions. "She is part of my people now, she is involved in any decisions made by The Heda and herself, the Skaihdea." Abby nods but is still weary towards the young brunette.

 She sighs, "I don't trust your traditions, if it includes any abuse towards the partner, and she comes to me with a single mark, inflicted by you, you will be answering to me." The Heda nods, gulps then turns back to gaze upon her sleeping Skai princess and the children. She smiles a little, unable to help herself, seemingly not noticing Abby watching her.

 Abby quietly marches forward, leaving Lexa behind to watch on in silence as she reveals Clarke's leg. It had only been a few short hours but it's still long enough for Abby to be concerned about her leg's state.

 She gently cleans any residue blood off her leg and stitches and sets about filling a small bottle with pills. Lexa crouches beside her, concerned about the little white ovals. "They're pain relief, like that herb mix your healers gave to her for her sutures after she was tortured." Lexa noticed the clenching of her jaw and the grinding of her teeth following the sentence and went to lean a hand on the woman's shoulder.

 "It will not happen again, they would not dare threaten The Heda's chosen. She is also the Ursa. Which in Skai terms, if I heard Raven correctly, is like God. Killing her now, would be like killing your God." Abby nodded, looking sullen.

 But then her face lit up from a sudden thought, "Commander, do you have marriage in your culture." Lexa shakes her head but rushes to explain herself.

 "No, but we have something similar, letting partners share rights. Me and Clarke now, are technically married anyway from her being chosen as Skaiheda." A massive grin breaks out onto Abby's face and turns fully to Lexa, who is looking on bemused.

 "My daughter's married, oh my god. Wait, I want a wedding reception." She squealed out, shaking her hands in excitement, The Heda couldn't help but smirk, but felt the woman was too elated to tell her she wasn't actually married, just technically married.

 A weird snorting sound came from beside them, and they turned to see Clarke ungraciously wipe drool from her face, using the arm that wasn't being pinned down by Serenty. She was still asleep, but aware enough to know it was stuck to her face.

 Abby smiled at her daughter and turned back to Lexa, seeing the longing look on her face at wanting to be curled up in the furs as well.

 Abby nodded to The Commander and left her to it, she was probably going to go check on Octavia and her arm and then go to the infirmary after.

 Lexa unravelled the blanket and draped it over the three of them, she then stripped, this time to just her under garments and attached herself to Clarke's arm. The extra furs and the blanket in place doing their job at keeping everything warm.

 It was about mid afternoon, but seeing as it was autumn, the days didn't last as long; making it darker sooner.

 Her problems as Heda could wait for now, she just wanted to spend her time with her little family, if you can call it that, and stay close to her love. She grew anxious with each passing day thinking something else is going to happen to Clarke, one of these days it'll either severely injure the blonde or kill her; Lexa just wanted her to stop putting herself at risk from being the hot headed stubborn blonde determined to have her way.

 When she moved her hand onto the wash board abbs she felt Adgar stir and move, shuffling closer to her until he was practically suffocating her, he had managed to balance himself on Clarke's chest whilst stretching out towards Lexa's face and grabbing a fistful of hair.

 Yeah she could get used to this, her little unconventional family. Even if Indra didn't approve her people did, and that's all that matters right?


	14. The gift and enjoyment of life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke's reminiscing; she's going to move and a gift? from her friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, the intended chapter didn't happen buuutt.....more fluff. Yay :)

 It was another pleasant morning when Clarke woke up, even if Lexa had left early again, and her leg was starting to become unbearably painful on top of that.

 The sun was shining through the tight gaps of the tent and bird song was audible, there was, of course, the usual hustle and bustle of grounder life and she could distantly hear the whirring of camp Jaha.

 She was still in her make shift tent, having not had the strength to move herself. Lexa had brought her staff to her, just in case and Indra, Octavia, Raven, Bellamy and her mother came and went. Often her friends would come to help her entertain the children, often succeeding until they fall asleep ... on-top of Clarke. Her mother was due to come back to her in a few hours, to give her pain relief; she had been given the special blend of herbs by the grounder's healer and the people that came and went would often help her apply it after Serenty and Adgar had fallen asleep. But there was only so much the mixture could do in keeping the pain at bay, whilst help her healing process.

 Lexa always came back to her and the children, sometimes earlier than others and would take them out if it was early enough, to be taught how to hunt, or just have some exercise which didn't involve climbing all over Clarke or running circles round her instead.

 She had started hearing their slip-ups outside the tent's entrance, Adgar actually calling her mummy at one point and she couldn't help the warm feeling that washed over her. She had gotten to the point, where if it came to a life and death situation she'd reluctantly choose them over Lexa. She knew Lexa would want her to choose them but she still felt guilty upon any situation that Lexa wasn't the first one she'd pick out of all three.

 She sighed contentedly, today will be a good day; she felt replenished, she felt like she had her energy back, and she felt like she'd be able to move about. Today will be an excellent day, Lexa had offered for her to walk with The Heda to the training field and watch her practice, with the children and then take her back to their tent - More than half of the things in that tent were Clarke's now - and she'd draw whilst Lexa would read to their little family. Nothing could be more perfect than what Lexa had promised.

 Time had seemingly passed by far quicker than Clarke had anticipated after falling into her mini daydream, when Abby walked in,s porting her medical bag and a relatively large kind smile.

 She grinned up at her mother as she went to kneel beside her blonde locks. She helped Clarke move the children off her gently, not wanting to wake them and then set about waiting for Clarke to sit up.

 "How are you feeling today?" Clarke nodded, resting a hand behind her.

 "Not too bad today, the pain's back, but not as harsh as before." Abby nodded, still rummaging through her bag of stuff, shouting a little 'Aha' at finding the required bottle of pills and unscrewing the top.

 "Okay, you're going to have one less than normal, 1 being because you're almost completely healed, 2 being because the doses I've been giving you have been three times the amount as anyone else, and three being because that herb mixture seems to be keeping your hurt mostly at bay." Clarke nodded, carding her fingers through Serenty's hair. It had been a while since she'd had a proper wash and she must stink to high heaven.

 "I've got a jug of water , hopefully your inner animal won't try to regurgitate them this time." Clarke chuckled, the last time she'd taken the antibiotics and pain relief had ended with Clarke choking to keep them down, whilst simultaneously looking for somewhere to throw up. Abby had gone to grab the nearby bucket, she'd been given as a temporary toilet and placed it next to Clarke in-case she couldn't keep them down. Thankfully the children had gone out with Lexa and Octavia at the time.

 Her mother went to get the bucket again, placing it beside Clarke, they were now just waiting for the pills to dissolve into the jug of water. This was also a new idea, to have them dissolve instead of have them whole.

 Abby watched Clarke stroking Serenty's hair and smiled, she let a long sigh out through her nose, "I'm proud of you Clarke." Clarke's head swivelled round to watch her mother closely.

 "Proud?" Abby nodded, "Yes, you're growing so fast, making decisions others can't even dream of and having The Commander." Clarke smiled, she knew her mother would never fully accept Lexa, but knowing she approved was fine. If it wasn't then she'd go ahead with her relationship anyway.

 "Thanks mum, she really has taken good care of me." Abby sighs again and picked the jug up, handing it to Clarke, who took it hesitantly, her inner bear coming through.

 "Chin-chin." Clarke grinned and downed the whole thing. She expected it to do something but nothing happened. "Well, looked like that worked." They chuckle.

 Her mother started packing the things she'd pulled out back into her bag and zipped it up. Clarke leaned down for a hug, hugging with one arm seeing as the other was still busy playing with Serenty's hair. "I'll see you later. Oh, and just to let you know, you'll have onlookers as you move from this tent."

 Clarke looked puzzled for a moment, before understanding, she groaned and slapped a hand to her face. "Honestly, I really don't see how it's such a big feet, me moving to a different tent." Abby smiled at her daughter's annoyance.

 "They want to see their warrior, Clarke. The one who single handedly took down a mutant gorilla, and then got taken out of sight for the next six days." Clarke rolled her eyes at Abby's obvious boasting of her most recent battle.

 "Are both camps going to be there?" Abby nodded and Clarke groaned, embarrassed about being observed in her current revolting state.

 The only way her hair's been kept as clean as it has been was because Lexa had been given a hairbrush by Raven, having been told 'Clarke'd know what to do', and shoved back towards her tent. She helped the blonde with gently brushing her hair and then, she would start putting plaits and braids in, unabashedly running her fingers down her neck and over her collar bone every so often. Clarke had wondered at first what she was doing but then learnt not to question it as her hair was pulled this way and that into small braids. Once, Lexa had gotten carried away and made a lattice over the top of the rest of Clarke's hair making it look like her hair had been caged in by the rest of it.

 Lexa strolled in through the tent flaps clearly not expecting Abby to still be here. She nodded to the older woman, clearly, uncharacteristically anxious about something. "Abby" She greeted.

 "Commander." Abby glanced up and down Lexa once, taking in her lightly armoured state. She had recently started wearing a light layer of armour again, purely for publicity.

 "Klark, Raven, Octavia and Bellamy have a gift-" She stopped suddenly upon seeing Clarke shushing her.

 "Keep your voice down, you'll wake these two." She gestured to the fidgeting forms in her lap, Lexa nodded and proceeded with a considerably lower voice.

 "A gift, I hope, that you will greatly appreciate." Clarke nodded in approval at Lexa's lowered tone. Abby watched the exchange, not able to keep the shit eating grin off at seeing The Heda being bossed about by Clarke.

 Lexa exited and after a few hushed whispers from quite clearly Bellamy and Raven and then a not so quieted voice belonging to Octavia, the three entered with Lexa trailing them. Between them they held another staff.

 It was much bulkier than her other staff and sported a curved handle at the top. They lowered it between them at the foot of the furs and stepped back observing Clarke's reaction.

 Upon closer inspection she found it sported intricate swirls and patterns, burned into the wood and then charcoal rubbed into the groves, the curved top swirled round from the top horizontally, before it tapered into a spiral facing the floor. It's thickness was twice that of her other staff and the foot of it was bulbed, to give it the appearance of a ball being pushed out the end.

 Clarke couldn't help but grin, unable to hold the tears back. Her friends had done this, for her. She looked up and held her arms out, waiting for them to come forward and hug her. They were careful to not disturb the sleeping bodies.

 Her mother had stood up and now stood next to The Heda, observing the interaction. "It's good that she has such caring friends." Abby commented, then looked to Lexa. "And a receptive partner." The Heda nodded at Abby's acceptance. The older woman left leaving Lexa, Clarke and the small gaggle of people still attached to her.

 They eventually pried themselves off Clarke after they heard Adgar giggle. He was a sleepy mess and super cute, and if Octavia waited any longer to scoop him up she was going to explode.

 Clarke woke Serenty up as well, handing her off to Raven who took her carefully. "Okay guys, be prepared for me to fall over, heh." She rubbed the back of her neck.

 "I kind of also want to save taking the new staff out, until I can walk about fine." Lexa and Bellamy nodded in understanding the other two too preoccupied to pay the blonde much mind.

 She reached for her other staff and set it parallel to the ground. "Can you take those two outside please? I don't want them to see me fall over, if that happens." Raven and Octavia comply, shuffling quietly through the entrance, cooing to the little people they held.

 "Okay, I can do this." She let out a slow breath. She gestured to the chair, brought in there specifically for when Clarke stood up. Bellamy brought it over, placing it on her other side to the staff.

 She rolled onto her front, intent being she'd push herself up most of the way, bringing her foot closer to the chair as she did so. She was eventually balanced with one hand half way up the staff, the other in the middle of the chair. It took just under half an hour to get to that point and she was taking in quick breaths from the tiring movements.

 Lexa had moved to stand in front of her, subconsciously wanting to help Clarke. But if she did and it went wrong Lexa could be pulled down and hurt. "Okay...okay. Almost there." She let out a few calming puffs before she stood up straight both hands wrapped securely round her staff. 

 The Heda and Bellamy both grinned up at her and she grinned back, triumphant. "Okay...now to actually move. Heh" She leaned more heavily on the staff as she took her first tentative step, her big toe barely scraped the ground before she hopped forward, she did again, more toes touching the ground then hopping forward again. She neared the entrance, her footing getting better and better, she had a tremendous limp but it wasn't as bad as the first time, when she was basically just hopping.

 "Okay, it's a good day, it's a wonderful day. Today will be an excellent day." She grinned, it slowly slipping into a smirk as she lifted the tent flap and inhaled the first few signs of spring and seeing that she did indeed, have quite the collection of bodies waiting for her.

 She spotted the children, stood with their hands entwined with each other and Raven and Octavia. She grinned at them and they grinned back. She stepped fully into the sunlight and heard a few gasps. Some gasped, some stood in silence taking in the magnificence of their Skaiheda, some even knelt too amazed to stand. She slowly started forward, Lexa closely behind. Everyone was watching her go, move, the old, young, injured, disabled. They all watched their leader proudly limp past them.

 She could feel each and every gaze burn into her. The air was quiet and filled with tension, their Skaiheda, this bulking brute of a blonde stubbornly, defiantly walking back to her tent. The Commander not too far behind. She drew up next to Clarke and they settle into an even un-rushed pace. Clarke looked down and offered her hand, The Heda took it, making sure their fingers were linked together.

 They were nearing their tent, Clarke able to see purely for the fact that she could see over the tops of heads and tents infront of her. They had ensured the tent her and Lexa resided in was high enough for her to comfortably stand, everything in it modified for her, again accenting how sweet and caring Lexa actually was under the tough girl façade.

 Lexa let her hand go, when the entrance came into view and paced forward, intent on holding the flap open for Clarke. She stepped through and turned around, her friends and the children following her with the new staff, however it was covered by a blanket, just the bulbed end sticking out.

 They followed her in, the crowds behind them closing, removing any trace that Clarke and Lexa had just walked a path, created by the grounders and skai people.

 "Thank you guys. This means a lot to me." She looks back to Lexa who had taken the staff herself, refusing any help from the others and propped it up at the foot of the bed. The blonde could clearly see the strain Lexa had through carrying the wood by herself. Proving just how strong Clarke was.

 "Can I just say, do you remember when you lifted that tree?" Raven said, Clarke nodded. "Well we made it from the wood of the jeffrey pine, in remembrance of that." Clarke nodded, remembering all too clearly the strain she put on herself.

 "Klark, there is also the pauna. I decided to dry it's meat, wait until you are well and give you the first pieces." Clarke smiled at the thoughtfulness of her girlfriend and hobbled over to the bed.

 She placed a hand on it and groaned, it had been a while since she'd lain on something so comfortable, yeah the furs and blankets were squishy but they didn't have the umph that a mattress did.

 She fell forward into the furs, burying her hands and face into the soft pelts and humming contentedly, her friends watching on in amusement as the children fought out of the tight holds to join Clarke.

 She pulled herself further onto the bed before stopping and promptly falling asleep, too exhausted to even turn around. The children broke free of their restraints and leaped onto the bed as well. Adgar lay the length of Clarke's upper back, between her shoulder blades and drifted off while Serenty sat where her head was and started playing with the large fingers no longer buried into the furs.

 "Well, if I'd have known she was going to be constantly tired I may have fallen in love for someone else." They chuckle at Lexa's attempt at humour.

 She goes to retrieve Clarke's smaller staff from where it fell to the floor and placed it on the floor along side the bed.She let her gaze trail over the sleeping bodies and then back to the little group still stood there.

 "While she may have moved from one place to another, please come and go as you did before. I will be here for as long as possible, occasionally going to my duty as Heda. Indra and Octavia will stand guard and I wish for you, Bellamy, to go and retrieve the pauna furs." They nod and as one they turn and head out the tent.

 With no audience to scrutinise her lowered barriers, Lexa leans down infront of Clarke, carefully turning her head so she doesn't suffocate and pecked her on the lips, she got an answering hum and smiled. She would not normally say this but Clarke, in this moment, was utterly adorable.

 She went to get the blanket at the foot of the bed and gently lay it over her little family before leaving to ensure her people knew where she was if they needed her.


	15. Aunts and Uncles?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clexa cuteness. Octavia takes them to train. The Ursa's appearance and a nice confusing end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so the chapters have recently gotten a little bit samey, buuuutt the next chapter will be worth waiting for. Bare with me on this one. I couldn't keep the drama at bay for too long..sorry :) and quite a few bombshells and a bit of a confusing cliffhanger. Oh yeah, and this chapter's also relatively short as well.

 Clarke was healing incredibly well, considering it had been just over eight days since the pauna, and her leg was crushed, she was already fully putting weight onto the leg.

 She had seen her progress through everything, any normal person would have taken twice as long as Clarke did to heal, but then again Clarke's not 'any normal person'. After her torture, the ice clan leader and now her leg, she had taken an insanely short amount of time.

 Octavia had suspected it was due to the Ursa spirit within her, the animal helping her heal and strengthen.

 Clarke hadn't moved out of the tent since she'd moved a few days ago, and she was currently holding Adgar as they watched Clarke and Serenty draw. The little girl had recently discovered her talent for charcoal drawings, Clarke had been over joyed and had instantly started teaching her 'the ways, of a true artist' as the blonde had put it. She was also incredibly good at remembering things, like the colour of the tree five acres away from two days ago, or the name of the bird of prey that flew over head seven days ago, and then goes into greater detail explaining exactly what it had done.

 Raven had recently stopped by the Heda's tent and dropped off a puzzle of some form, made of string and wood. The aim, to get two wooden cylinders off one big loop to two smaller loops made of the big loop. It was very clever, the way Raven had designed it and Clarke had groaned and given up after a few seconds of trying to do it.

 Octavia had picked it up, and that's where she is now, still trying to figure out how to solve it whilst Adgar watched on intensely.

 " **There, through, there.** " She heard him mumble, it was the first thing he'd said since she'd started trying to do the puzzle, so she obeyed and folded part of the loop through the hole in the rectangle of wood holding everything together.

 The loop was now halved with one half hanging out of one side of the hole an the other through the other side, the two bits of wood still on the same bit of shortened rope.

 He then prodded at the loose bit of rope hanging out the other side with his little fingers, " **That over there**." She complied again, the two loops were now much longer and starting to appear like they should once solved.

 She grinned, **"Keep going, keep going.** " she encouraged, he nodded and pulled a bit of rope through the hole, shortening the newest loop.

 " **This through there and that over this**." He pulled the loop through the corresponding loop and shoved one of the cylindrical beads up the rest of the way. Octavia kept holding the bar of wood whilst his little fingers worked round her.

 He started humming to himself, as if he was talking along with his actions. He pulled the final bit of rope through and the brunette's smile grew. Adgar yelled in triumph and shot up, parading round the tent holding the puzzle in the air like a trophy.

 Octavia, Clarke and Serenty laughed at his antics.

 The Heda walks through the tent's flaps and raises an eyebrow at the little boy strutting past her. "Hey Lex." Octavia watched the grin on Clarke's face grow and Serenty jumped up, running to her Heda. She hugged her middle and The Commander laid a hand on her back whilst keeping her other firmly placed behind her.

 She picked Serenty up and proceeded towards the large rocking chair Clarke was sat in. She leant down and pecked Clarke on both cheeks. Octavia could get a good look at what was behind Lexa's back and she grinned knowing the blonde would love the little gift.

 She pulls away and kneels before Clarke, who's looking down at her quizzically. The Heda pulls the bouquet of flowers from behind her back and Clarke's face lights up. A happiness Octavia's never seen before. It was like Christmas back on the ark, but amplified by a million and then slapped onto Clarke's face.

 Serenty had gone to quietly play with Adgar, who had hung the puzzle around his neck; whilst Octavia watched on amused at the cuteness of her friend and her Heda.

 There were a few seconds of silence as Clarke gawped at the flowers, there were three roses in there, daisy's, daffodils, a few tulips and some white glory of the snow. It was evident The Heda had picked them, if the light layer of mud covering her hands and knees was anything to go by. 

 Clarke launched herself forward, barely sparing enough time to hold back a little so that she didn't squish her. Lexa was met by a ferocious kiss by the looks of things, and Octavia couldn't bare to impose on their moment any long, so she grabbed the two children and led them outside, intent on training them more.

 They have to learn how to defend themselves, especially if their guardians are both The Heda and The Ursa. People are bound to come after them at some point; so it's better to train them sooner rather than later.

 She didn't have to worry about telling Clarke and her Heda where they were going to be, the training arena was one of two places the children were taken. The second being the feast pavilion, which is also close to where they skin the animals; this allowed for the meat to be taken instantly to the fires or to go and dry whilst the skins were hung up to dry.

 Lincoln had followed them, leaving Indra and a fairly short angry looking guard at the tent's entrance.

 They arrived at the arena and she picked up two sets of daggers. When a grounder was old enough, they'd get their own made to fit weapon of their choosing, but seeing as Adgar was five and Serenty was seven, they were no where near of age or capability to have their own weapons and it made sense to train them in the basics first anyway. Clarke was adamant about their training in the first place and what Clarke wants, she gets. If she wanted something, or requested it and either her and Indra didn't comply then she'd just tell The Commander to order them to.

 They started off with the stances, running through all the defences and how to improve their footing so that it was lighter and quieter. Adgar, being so young, kept getting distracted by the wildlife or falling over on his little legs.

 They then moved onto arching the air and ways to stab someone in different situations. Octavia would get them to repeat the manoeuvres to perfection then change whatever was needed to make their position's perfect. She also told them to incorporate a yell here or a yell there, to help them intimidate any who oppose them. They made quite the little team and by the tie the sun was setting their training was ending and the children were tiring from the strenuous exercise.

 The brunette decided to call it quits when Adgar threatened to fall over, and started making their way back making a detour to the small circle of textiles tents. They had had many clothes traded for them, and this little detour would be the last for a while. Adgar wore trousers and tunics, whereas his sister wore torn trousers, deep blue in colour, a deep blue sleeveless top and a jet black over coat; she looks almost like a miniature version of Her Heda.

 They picked the garments up and finally made their way back to the tent, Octavia hand in hand with the children whilst Lincoln tailed them.

 They stepped through the tent's entrance and found Clarke hobbling about routing through draws and under surfaces for lord knows what with the bouquet of flowers in a loose fist, whilst Lexa's no-where to be found. "Where is the Heda?" Clarke spun round a little too fast and stumbled before correcting herself and walking towards her children.

 "She has gone to take care of a few errands. Have you seen a vase or something that I can put these in?" She holds the flowers up and Octavia smiles. She points to an ornate jug on the chest of draws and Clarke sighs. "Of course it's there. Right infront of me." She shakes her head smirking whilst she walks over to the draws and retrieves the jug and proceeds to scoop water into it and place the flowers in it as well. She settles them on the table and then turns back to Octavia and the children.

 " **Did you have fun with aunty Octavia**?" They nod with matching grins, before Adgar starts boasting about how awesome his aunty is and the epic fights they fought.

 " **Adgar, we were killing the air, I think you were imagining whatever _that_ is**." Said a disapproving Serenty. The two older girls chuckled, before Clarke crouches down infront of them.

 " **How about, you spend two days with Aunty Octavia, Lincoln, Raven and Uncle Bell**?" They nod excitedly, wanting to spend time with their Aunts and Uncles. They had become known as such when Clarke suggested it and they all agreed. She had mentioned it to The Heda, who had approved and then it just happened. Clarke had said 'do you want Auntie Raven over', and now all four were known as Auntie or Uncle.

 The Heda had organised a feast of the pauna, inviting all the clan leaders and their seconds to attend. It included the Skai people, but instead of the leader and their seconds, because they don't have that system, the council had been invited instead. Clarke grumbled about having Danitele at the celebration, if she had it her way he's be incarcerated because he had defied The Ursa. But seeing as it was a celebration to further unite the clans and Skai people, she couldn't do that.

 "It's in four days time, y which time my leg will have healed enough." The moment she finished her sentence The Heda entered and glared at all who stood in her tent. Octavia recognised that glare and hurriedly shoved her friends and the children with her out.

***

 Lexa stalked towards Clarke once the others had left, eyes set on her like prey. "You should not be stood up without your staff." Clarke rolled her eyes at Lexa's hidden care for her. Her mother had said, once, that hse is not to walk without the aid of her staff; and now Lexa was acting like it was her job to make sure she did as such.

 "Lex, I'm fine. It's better if I'm moving about."She crossed her arms and looked down to her girlfriend who was still scowling at her. To prove her point she stepped back on her healing leg and raised her eyebrow in challenge.

 "Klark, you have ten seconds to either sit down, or use your staff."

 "Oooohhh, what ya gonna do. Shout at me, push me until I'm sat down?" Lexa's face contorts into frustration before she closes her eyes and sighs; she opens them again, more relaxed than before.

 "Klark, if anything were to happen to you...again...I would be back at square one. Please just don't cause yourself an injury for being stubborn." Clarke sighs, Lexa's slightly glossy eyes winning her over. She went to get her staff and then came back, standing infront of the brunette.

 "There, happy now?" Lexa smiled and nodded. "Good." Clarke looks at her staff, then her hand attached to it and then her arm attached to her hand and then her shoulder, until she was looking down past her wrapped chest at her toes, and the slight claws, protruding from the ends. "Why am I like this? I just want a normal life, that has me, you and the kids in it. Where there's no war, and I don't look like a monster?" She feels Lexa's hand cup her jaw, the hard line tensing at the contact then relaxing immediately after.

 She sighs and looks up into the green irises she's eventually come to trust. "You are no monster Klark. You have a body to match your heart, we all make decisions some of them worse than others but that doesn't make you any worse than them. You are no monster, I will repeat myself until you see that. Klark? Kla-" But she was cut off. She felt light headed for no reason and her eyes rolled back into her head.

 She could hear, but not see, it was white and the noise she could hear was static. Her limbs felt like feathers and her mind seemed to grow suddenly heavy, like a weight was weighing on her and she needed to get it sorted.

 She was looking around this white expanse, seeing what it was, any indication as to why she was in it in the first place. She spun round for the umpteenth time and stopped upon seeing a dark speck in the distance, it was barely there it was that small but after blinking a good few times it became clear it was moving, and fast.

 She could hear the thudding of limbs and the panting of a single breath, whatever it was, it was an animal of some form. It drew closer and closer, letting Clarke see it's colour, that of which a muddy brown.

 It kept coming and coming until it was almost upon her and she eventually was able to recognise it as the Ursa spirit. It came to a stop right infront of her, puffing big breaths into her face, ruffling her hair and warming her face. It looked slightly younger than it did the last time she saw it and considerably cleaner.

 It's far had been matted and coated in dried mud but now it was spotless and it's fur looked to be golden brown instead of muddy brown. It's eyes were still piercing and felt like they were boring holes into the blonde, like spears in her skin.

 " ** _Claaarrrke_**." It spoke, in the same jumble of voices, again it sounded to be more feminine than anything and it had a certain ring of youth to it.

 "Y ** _ou have called me. Your inner turmoil is evident, what is it you desire_**?"

 " _I don't know what you mean?_ " To say she was confused was an understatement.

 " _ **I can feel you Clarke. You have a great sadness, more than those I have previously occupied. It is of... your figur**_ e? Are you displeased with it?" Clarke looked down ashamed, nodding.

 " ** _Well, speak child. Such insolence will not be tolerated if you wish to change_**." Clarke cowered away from the great figure stood before her in all it's mighty glory.

 " _My body is morphed ans warped as such and I am seen as a monster._ "

 " ** _Child, you are the one calling you a monster. Your partner, friends and family see you as Clarke, the great Skaiheda. You should be empowered by your form, not ashamed_**." Clarke sighed.

 " _That's the problem, I barely fitted in before and now? Now I don't fit in. In the grounder culture nor the Skai culture, I'm a freak._ " The Ursa's eyes tighten, burrowing further into the blonde.

 " _ **If you degrade yourself further I will not help you. Explain what it is you wish."**_ Clarke reverted further back into herself and clutched her forearm infront of her.

  _"I would like to have a smaller form."_ SHe looks up to see the it flash past the Ursa's eyes. It contemplates what it'll say then it inhales deeply.

 " ** _A cannot do that Clarke, however, you may change your form to that of normal stature or to my stature. Howbeit you have to keep a minds eye on your appearance so as not to fall back into your original self. You can develop this over time but it is dependant on your concentration. I have been able to grant such wishes before now, but not to this extent, if you stay in my stature for too long your body may take on it's form more so than what it would look like now."_**

 Clarke stared on gob smacked as the Ursa explained her new form. It seems the Ursa has a soft spot for Clarke, however she bets it's never had such an insecure human before who also isn't a grounder, trained to be hard and firm not soft and squishy.

 She fell to her knees and bowed down, wanting to show her appreciation to the great spirit. She had looked up after a minute of grovelling when the deep thudding of the Ursa's heart stopped. She looked up to see her tent ceiling staring right back, she gasped and swayed, not able to believe what had just transpired.

 Her senses slowly trickled back to her, first her smell, then touch, then hearing; eventually all ten of her senses were back and she could clearly hear the anxious breaths, thundering heartbeats and nervous twitches the people surrounding her had.

 She slowly craned her neck down and level, inhaling then exhaling for longer, her balance was impeccable and her sight, hearing and smell were heightened. She could smell the sweat coming off of the nervous bodies and the distant rumbling of thunder, the scurrying of night animals and the hoots and squawks of owls and buzzards.

 Then someone spoke and she cringed at the volume of it, it was like they were shouting down her ears. They immediately stopped at seeing her reaction and she turned to them, realising it was Lexa a sluggish smile stretching her lips and she couldn't be happier to see her love stood before her.

 She felt exhausted after that ordeal and started moving, not noticing the bodies moving from her path, she could sense Lexa following her tentatively but she didn't care she wanted to sleep; and what Clarke wanted, Clarke got.

 She fell face first into the soft furs and the plush pillows, sighing contentedly into them, the bed creaking soothing beneath her, reminding her that yes, she was here, on her bed with Lexa. Or at least, the smell of Lexa; the loss of her warmth saddened Clarke so she called Lexa's name out and heard a lot of shuffling and mumbling and then a warm body lain the length of hers and then a soothing hand, stroking nails into the base of her skull.

 She sighed again, drifting off. This was nice, she could get used to this; the only thing missing being her kids. h _er kids_... _where were they_?! She suddenly shot up searching for them but started panicking when she couldn't see them.

 " **ADGAR! SERENTY!** " She yelled, hoping to god they hadn't been taken, if she found out who'd taken them, she'll rip them to shreds, tear them from limb to limb for stealing what was hers.

 She shot up and ran to the tent's entrance, tensing when she heard Adgar's quiet crying, wanting Clarke.

 Wanting his mum.


	16. Preping for what's to come

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke gets ready, yay, a few more accessories to her wardrobe and maybe a little anger on behalf of Clarke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have the lovely maisyclarkson as my beta reader at the mo, thank you little pudding :)  
> Oh and there may or may not be a few unintended innuendos in there as well.

 She burst through the tent flaps, the relieving cool night air kissing her skin. Her ears found her children before her eyes and she let out a cry of relief in seeing them running towards her, a very anxious Octavia and Raven following quickly behind.

 Adgar had been crying and Serenty was trying to sooth him, whilst they both ran to Clarke. Clarke ran forward as well, dropping to her knees letting the two small wriggling bodies jump into her waiting arms.

 She cried into the tops of their heads and hugged them as tight as she dared. She felt a snarl and heard a growl escape her, taking those closest to her by surprise. The deep rumbling even made Lexa tense, her sixth sense working in overdrive, detecting the change in atmosphere and the nerves of her friends.

 Clarke stood up and stepped backwards until The Commander was at her side and her children were tucked under each limb. She glowered at the two stood before her, slightly shaking from their flight or fight instincts; the only reason they're still there being the fact that it was Clarke. It was Clarke growling at them, they had done nothing and she'd been stupid enough to allow her attitude.

 She quit her snarling but couldn't hold back one last long, low growl before she squinted at the pair. " **Why is he crying?** " Adgar had now stopped crying but was whimpering into her neck, whilst Serenty reached across the blonde's chest to settle her brother.

 "I said, **Why**! Is he crying?" She tried to maintain her control, although it was barely there amidst the animal of the Ursa threatening to come forth over her maternal instincts. Octavia stepped forward and bowed low, trying to appease the angered blonde. She kept bowing but looked up.

 "He tripped and fell when chasing his sister Ursa." Clarke squinted further then looked down at the boy, her features softening. His glossy eyes stared back and eh sniffled, wiping an already snotty hand under his running nose.

 " **Is this true**?" He nodded.

 **"It was harmless, the ground was uneven and I led him to the roots in the first place**." Clarke looked to Serenty then back to the two girls stood before her.

 She slanted her eyebrows at them and closed her eyes, bowing her head. "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding Raven and Octavia." She opened her eyes upon bringing her head back up and swiftly turned on her heel pushing through the thin fabric of her and Lexa's tent. She could easily make out the hushed conversation between her Heda and her two friends, but decided sleep was to come first.

 She piled one of the furs into a nest and curled up in the centre of it on the bed, she curled around the children and drifted off, listening to her children and the outside world's noises.

***

 The following morning, Clarke awoke to The Heda rustling about the tent. She would have not noticed the elegant movement any other day but with her newly heightened senses, she's able to detect even Lexa moving about. To any normal person she would have been scarily quiet, too quiet for a human.

 She hummed and pulled the children closer to her, wrapped up even more so than the night before in her little nest. Lexa stood up straight and turned to face her dazed, blissfully sleepy Skaiheda and children and smiled. Lexa hummed back through a sigh and stepped closer to the bed.

 "Skai Prisa, I will be back before the rain sets in. There are matters concerning the feast." Her ears shot back at the loudness f Lexa but smiled in acknowledgement anyway. They had discussed the plans and events of the pauna feast, celebrating the feat of the blonde taking down one of the most feared of the creatures in grounder culture.

 "I will have to go and get earplugs, if my hearing's going to be constantly be like this." She stated and Lexa chuckled.

 "Not before I have returned. I will bring Raven." Clarke nodded, this would also be the perfect opportunity to say a complete sorry to her friend properly, she had still been dazed upon coming out of the weird trance like state whilst talking to the Ursa.

 She watched brown tresses flow through the tent's flap and then looked down to the children. Adgar was awkwardly lying over her arm, back arched upwards with Serenty lying on-top of him, curled into Clarke's stomach. She smiled and looked around.

 The daylight seemed to be darker than usual and there was static in the air, raising the hairs on the back of her neck and making her shiver. She must get some more clothes, the only ones she's got are the recently modified fur coat and her sewn bindings.

 The blonde let the children cuddle in the middle of the nest, where it was warm before putting her actual bottoms on this time, and then putting her night shirt on over the top. She popped her head out the tent and found three guards instead of two. On of which was Lincoln, the other being Indra - no doubt Lexa telling her to guard Clarke and their children, _their children_ , instead of herself and then the third being Ryder, who Clarke hadn't seen for a while.

 Lincoln turns to her ushering her back inside he sticks his head through the tent's flaps instead and continues to whisper. "The Heda has requested that you not leave. She wants you to dress in your furs and retrieve the staff." Clarke groans and attempts to see outside but Lincoln smiles. "She said you would try and do that, you must stay here Skaiheda." Lincoln gives one last sheepish smile before exiting.

 The blonde shrugs and walks back over to the bed, curling back around her children.

Not so long after the blonde had drifted off into a light sleep, she was awoken by a barely there chuckle. She turned round to see Lexa watching her and the children with an amused smirk, Raven stood a few paces behind her.

Raven stuck her head out, past The Heda's shoulder nervously, anxious to see if Clarke will react, but she doesn't so she steps out fully adorning a massive grin of pearly whites and a small tool kit.

“Yo.” She practically shouts, causing Clarke to cringe and bury her head into the covers to stop the ringing in her ears.

She hears her hurry out hushed apologies before the bed dips and a soft, calloused hand rubs up her forearm. She looks up to find Lexa's sat there and Raven, again, a few paces behind. She sits up fully and murmurs out a quiet, tentative, “HI.”

The Commander shuffles down the bed a little, allowing enough space for Raven to sit and start rummaging through her tool box. She pulls out a clear plastic bag of cotton and another, full of thin wire, curled into a tight spiral. She sets to work.

She pulls out tuft after, tuft of cotton, occasionally referring to Clarke's ears to make sure she's getting the right amount, before carefully crafting the wire to hold the cotton securely.

She manages to do so in a matter of minutes and has Clarke trying them for the first time. She'd designed it so that wire was wrapped round the back of her ear, reaching round the front and holding the cotton in place by extending over the tragus. The wire curled around the cotton itself and had the appearance of a snail, effective and fairly small and beautiful.

Clarke smiled, shaking her head to test the new ear-piece’s stability. They held firm and she turned to Raven.

“Thank you, I'll be able to do things normally now, although 'normal' seems to have been forgotten a _long_ time a go.” They all chuckled and Clarke approved of the fact that the cotton, does indeed, keep sound out quite well.

She fingered the bits of wire a little before getting a stern look from Raven and pulling her fingers away guiltily. She turns to Lexa.

“When's the feast?” Without missing a beat Lexa replies.

“Tonight, when the sun has set and the rain has passed.” The blonde had completely forgotten the grounder people were able to tell what the weather will be like and had to stop and think for a moment before realising.

She nods, “I really don't want to see or even talk to Danitele, he can be incredibly obnoxious at times ... _and_ a stubborn snob.” The only reason he's on the council is because Jasper didn't want to take up such a stressful depending job for knowing so much about agriculture. Plus it didn't help that Danitele had wormed his way into the position in the first place, he never did any of the work, just getting Jasper and Monty to do things for him; they're not confident enough to stand up to him.

“Great, how long until night, because I'm seriously starving right now.” Raven chuckled and Lexa let a small smirk pass her features. She had come a long way in letting her emotions known infront of others and the blonde had made it happen.

The Heda looked to Raven who methodically pulled her arm up, shoved the long sleeve back and read the time. “In about...three and a half hours.” Raven nodded and looked back up. “Plenty of time to get _you_ , ready.”

She thought she was already ready when Raven called Octavia in. She looked at the two and the matching mischievous grins.

Lexa took it upon herself to leave the three of them to their own devices, not wanting to get wrapped up in what Clarke will be dressed in.

Once Clarke had wrapped the children up further into the little nest she turned to the two stood before her, still grinning like maniacs.

“We're going to need you to stand up, don't worry about Adgar and Serenty they'll be in good hands.” Octavia disappears past the tent leaving Clarke unwilling to leave the two on her bed.

She returns with Lincoln in tow and the blonde smiles. The ex-reaper walks over to her and grapples her arm in greeting before climbing onto the other side of the raised bed and crossing his legs, watching Clarke whilst brushing light fingers through Serenty's hair.

The blonde tentatively gets off the bed and walks to stand by the two stood there already. They proceed out the tent after Octavia had stuck her head through the flap to make sure no-one was in passing and then hurriedly ushered the other two out. “You know, for a Skai turned Trikru you're not the most stealthy.” Clarke chuckled at Raven's statement which earned them both a glare.

They hurry into a nearby tent and Clarke can smell the awaiting bath before they'd even entered. It smelt of wild flowers and honey, like Lexa.

She breathed in deeply when all three had entered, savouring the smell and the warmth radiating off of the tub. She grinned and tore her bindings off and sped towards the tub eager to finally get clean after weeks of lying there doing nothing. People mus have thought she stank but were either too polite to say so or were too terrified.

She groaned as she leaned back into the side of the tub and closed her eyes, letting herself slide down the length. But then she shot up with scowling at the two watching on in amusement.

“Since when have we had a tub this size?” Octavia bursts out laughing and Raven follows suit.

Octavia finally relents in her laughing and leans up just enough to choke out, “Haha, it's...it's The He-eda's. HA. Tub.” Clarke frowns but reverts back to the reclined position in the hot water and sighs again at the feeling of all the dirt and grime being loosened and flaking off.

Within minutes of a bit of elbow grease from al three of them the water was now had a slick top layer of grime and grease and the water was murky and dank. Her pale skin was now a shade paler and her hair was golden instead of a muddy yellow. She gets out and the two hand her two large towels, just barely big enough to dry all of her, whilst blushing and turning their heads away.

“It's weird, how I don't feel embarrassed, if I was my old me I'd be yelling at you two to get out now...now I really couldn't care less.” She had managed to pull her bottom sewn bindings on and the other two turned around, not so embarrassed about seeing blonde curls at the apex of Clarke's thighs but still having a rosy tint from her revealed breasts.

“Maaaaybe...maybe it's because of you're a bear, bears don't need clothes and are basically nude twenty four seven, you know because of their fur.” Clarke nods in thought - yeah that could be a good reason. After all she didn't feel any strong human emotions apart from, fright, anger, love, annoyance, panic and her usual stubbornness anyway.

She had pulled her sewn chest bindings on and been given her night shirt again, they ventured out of the tent, with Octavia's 'stealthy' quick search first, and walked back to Clarke and The Commander's tent.

Clarke frowned down at her bare feat, she's just been thoroughly cleaned, rubbed red raw from the effort and her feat are getting dirty again. “Don't worry about that, I've had a jug of hot water sent to your tent, and a rough rag.” Clarke nods and they carry on.

They get there, walking through the tent flap before Raven says 'oh' and turns back round. Clarke and Octavia venture further into the tent, both smiling at Lincoln who had somehow, gotten swamped by the children and Clarke chuckled – that must be what she looks like when they drape themselves over her.

She comes back holding a mass of fabric, puffing at the effort to carry it all. Octavia laughs at her determined friend and reaches out to pull the first item off the top.

“Okay, so, we've been preparing this garb for you for _ages_. 'Bout time you wore it.” She unfolds the first item and looks past it to gauge Clarke's reaction, she could clearly see the surprise on Clarke's face and smiled knowing they'd chosen correctly.

They had pulled out a black and grey top, the two colours swirled together forming the appearance of clouds, the bottom was cut at an angle and when worn would likely reveal her pale stomach and one of her anteriors down to the corresponding hip. The neck line was a low V and it was laced together at the back, the laces loose letting a large gap of skin peek through.

Clarke looked at Octavia and Raven grinning, “That's beautiful, how'd you do the fabric?” Raven ruffles a hand from under the mass of fabric and pats the side of her nose with a single finger.

“Ah-ah-aaah, all in good time my dear.” She grins again and urges Octavia to pass the garment over to Clarke.

With very little difficulty she puts it on over the top of her sewn bindings, not having to worry about the blue sash Lexa had given her in the beginning, that was the first time she'd worn the blue drape, it was just getting in the way and she wasn't a public figure yet, too much having gone on for her to wear it in pride; instead of wearing it to gain respect.

Surprisingly the top made her rather muscular figure much more curvy and effeminate and she smiled, Octavia cleared her throat, pulling the blonde form her dreaming.

“Next we goooo-oott … this,” She had rummaged around the pile Raven was still holding and pulled out a similarly patterned grey and dark grey waist coat, It had two toggles at the front, with curved edges to the front flaps and a back that looked circular held up like Octavia was doing. The tips of the front flaps reached to the bottom of Clarke's rib cage; it was made of deep brown leather and it's texture was rougher than that of normal, softened leather. She slid it on and moved her arms about after doing the toggles up. It hugged nicely and she grinned up at the two before her.

 Next Raven held up what was left, she held two unusual leather pouches and what appear to be cropped trousers; the front of which had a flap, held in place by three buttons spanning the flap's length.

 She unbuttoned one side of the flap and slid them on, the bottom of each leg reaching up past half way on her calf. The trousers sat on the high waist keeping the already pale stomach exposed.

 Before Raven could fully show the blonde what it was that was left, Octavia had guided her to the bed to sit down, to which she did and she smiled down at her mum. Her children still asleep.

 "Right, so, we figured since you probably don't want anything impaling your feet but figured you wouldn't want boots, or shoes, I set about designing a replacement. Something that'd mean you're not constantly bare foot without having that restrictive shoe casing." She held one of the weird pouches aloft and Clarke inspected it. The leather was even more rough on one side than the waist coat. The other side was softened leather and was a lighter colour. A series of strings attached to the sole, one bit attached so that it looped up then back down, the second halfway down from one side to the other; then the last two criss crossing at the end.

 Raven encouraged Clarke to lift a foot to her knee and watched on as Raven wound the string around her foot and ankle, attaching the leather to the underside of her foot. When Raven had done that, she whooped and started on the other, making the blonde do that one herself with some guidance.

 She stood up and walked round testing the feeling of her new accessories, grinning all the while. She did a thumbs up towards her friends sat at the edge of her bed watching her and Lincoln, who was still swamped by the little bodies. Lexa walked in and they all admired Clarke's new clothing.

 "Ah, there's something missing..." Octavia gets up and wonders round for a second, before grabbing the cloth covered staff, "AH-ha. Got it." She handed the staff to her with the help of Raven and Lexa, and she tested the new staff's weight. This was the first time she;d held it and it is much heavier than her other staff, much like how it looks. The intricate swirls dug satisfyingly into her palm and she shivered at the cool wood.

 She looked down the length of her arm and back up again, frowning at the gap in the shoulder of both the waist coat and top. She moved her frown to Octavia who hurried forward, rushing to explain.

 "Aaand, that's there for the cape thing. You know the one that wraps round your under-top." Clarke nodded and went over to the draws at the side of the tent and retrieved said item.

 She took her layers off until she was in her torso bindings. "Lexa could you, help me with this please?" The Heda nodded and stepped forward taking the offered end of the material. She wrapped through the bindings until it was how it was meant to be and then twisted the left over fabric together. She then helped the blonde pull her top back on, threading the deep blue fabric through the hole; she helped thread it through the waist coat's hole as well, then proceeded to neatly unwrap the fabric, making it look like the blue drape was attached to her waist coat and not the bindings underneath.

 "Okay." Clarke clapped her hands together once Lexa had finished and looked to Raven, "How long?"

 "Eeeerrrmm, abooouuutt ... an hour and a half." The blonde recoiled in shock, surly they hadn't been doing this for over an hour. But then again the time flew by whilst she was scrubbing from head to toe in the bath.

 The girls laughed at her horror and Lexa let a small smile spread her lips. "You are almost ready Klark, you need your khol."With that Octavia hurried out with a wave of The Heda's hand, returning with a pot of black substance.

 She dipped two fingers in and looked up at Clarke, pulling them out to reveal them coated in the black substance. She urges the blonde to bend down so that the brunette can reach her face.

 She rubs the khol over the entirety of both hands before reaching up and passing her thumbs across cheekbones and up into her hair line and over the tips of her ears. She angles a finger nail so that the start of the line's diagonally in the middle of her cheek. "Close your eyes. Trust me." She whispers, not loud enough to be heard by the others.

 Clarke smiles and complies. "Always." Lexa smiles back, forgetting Clarke can't see her. She runs the edge of her index fingers gently over Clarke's eyelids, feeling the fluttering as she tries to relax and allow Lexa to apply the paint.

 She finishes by taking her cleanest finger underneath her eyebrows, fading the paint away before pulling her hand away. She stands watching Clarke, mesmerised as Aegean blue flashes into view, staring at Lexa. The brunette couldn't help but lean forward and press a slight kiss to the blonde's lips before pulling away, taking note of the small smile Clarke's giving her before turning away and applying the rest of the khol to her own eyelids, careful to not cote anything other than her eyes.

 She takes the towel Octavia hands her and she wipes her hands off on it. Clarke watches on as she paces for a few seconds, face stern and unrelenting as she thinks.

 She spins towards the small group now clustered round the bed, the children only just awoken by the mass of bodies surrounding them. "Octavia." The girl jumps forward, eager to please her Heda. "Retrieve Indra and make sure everything is set, ready for the celebration." She nods and hurries out the tent.

 "Clarke turns to her children, leaning down to press kisses to their foreheads. "You two be good for your Uncle, I don't want to come back to having to reprimand you two." She looks up to Lincoln. "Tell me if they're naughty." He grins and gives a curt nod.

Clarke smiles then straightens, setting her face into one a look of nothing. She clenches her hand round the staff and proceeds towards the tent's exit.

 She wouldn't even be attending the celebration if it was up to her but Lexa, and maybe Octavia had been insistent on her being honoured for killing the pauna. She looks to her side, where Lexa was stood adorning her full battle armour and the light khol, it was her night, their night.

 And she's going to get absolutely smashed.


	17. anger management dear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa's possessiveness comes out to play, Clarke's protectiveness comes out too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay a bit of Abby's PoV? I think. Maybe? Okay, just realised, I've had to change the last chapter to a humongous error involving Clarke's mother and the fact that she was required at the celebration..…

 Once outside Clarke turned to The Heda, she had taken mere milliseconds to clip her blood red sash to her shoulder, she was adorned in her full armour and Heda attire and her posture was impeccable as ever. She smiled at her love.

 "I've just realised, I actually have no idea as to where I'm going." Lexa let a small snort out before composing herself - if she was to still be respected by her people, she would keep it by remaining the impassive Commander they know and respect.

 She walked up to beside the blonde, their sashes side by side, she scanned the area infront of her, immediately spotting the faint glow over the tops of a few tents. She looked up to Clarke, who looked down and offered her elbow to the Heda, who took it.

 They traversed past tents and huts, on well worn paths and past burning barrels, all the while the glow spreading further across the sky and music and laughter filled the air. It surprised Clarke that the grounders knew about instruments or at least to the extent they had. There were a few who had uncovered worn, torn, pealing guitars. bent saxophones and they of course new all about wood wind instruments like air pipes, ocarina and accordions.

 The Heda had inquired Octavia about what the Skai people drank in times of celebration and she had been quick to reply with moonshine. The Commander had raised an eyebrow at the younger girl, who had grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck out of habit. She had informed The Heda of Murphy's 'renowned' moonshine concoction.

 They neared the celebration and Clarke spotted guards posted around large two open-sided tents and their occupants. Some were already drunk, some were getting there and some were too grumpy and stubborn to even have a sip. Clarke spotted her mum, she was, by the looks of things, having a good time. Chatting to Cane and one of the boat clan's leaders.

 She looks around a little more, spotting an irate Octavia being talked to by one of the most animated people she'd ever seen, his hands waving left right and centre, spitting and stuttering into her face and obviously engrossed in his tale. She feels Clarke watching her and turns ever so slightly to pass a pleading look to the blonde.

 She looks to Lexa, "Ready?" the blonde nods, and The Heda leads her to one of the long food laden tables running down the centre of the tents, using the hand tucked into the blonde's elbow as guidance.

 As they draw closer and closer, more and more of the clan's leaders take notice and make haste in respecting the two leaders, the great uniter and her chosen, the Ursa.

 They make it to the head of the table by which time it was deathly silent and the only thing to be heard was the drunken sways of those that stood too still for their over hyped bodies - but that might just be Clarke and her over sensitive hearing, even with the cotton placed in them. The Heda unhooked her hand from her elbow and stepped forward greeting her people, their people.

 "Please, enjoy this event of events, the feast and the alcohol. This celebration is in honour of our Skaiheda, The Ursa, for the defeat of one of our _many_ oldest enemies." She pauses for breath, casting her gaze over the reddened faces and puffs of vapor out into the cold night air. "I believe, in The Skai people's tradition they say, 'bottoms up." She raises her glass, as do the others and throws her head back. Clarke raises her staff and dips her head.

 She smiles at Lexa's gesture to her home and sniffs at the cup. Her nostrils flare in distaste and she scrunches her nose up, disliking the smell burning through her sinuses. The Heda spots this and discretely swaps her cup for one filled with water. Clarke smiles in thanks and takes a sip.

 The boisterous laughter soon fills the air again and Lexa seats herself next to Clarke, who had had a chair placed specifically for her, and had placed her staff against the table. She immediately grabs a pigs leg and tares a chunk off, offering it to Lexa. She takes it then watches on in fascination as the blonde gulps the rest down in record time without getting so much as a fleck of grease on her lips.

 She's disrupted from her moment of reverie by a gruff voice clearing it's throat. She looks up to see the horse clan's leader stood before them, wringing his hands and a slight blush covering his cheeks. The Heda squints her eyes at him and he clears his throat when a few, obviously drunk, friends urge him on. He bows his head to The Commander before turning to Clarke, who had placed her meat down and watched him carefully.

 " **Skai Prisa, I would you like to have this dance**?" He gestures to the clear area behind him, a few bodies littering the floor, wiggling and jiggling. Clarke smiles sweetly before shaking her head.

 " _I would have to decline, I wouldn't want The Heda getting too envious_." She grins at The Commander who had a slight frown, still squinting her eyes at the man.

 "I'm sure Heda would not mind. It is not as if you were partners." Clarke grinned further feeling Lexa tense beside her, slowly trailing her hand to her dagger. She looks from The Heda to the man, still grinning.

 "I would beg to differ." The Commander says as she leans slightly closer to Clarke, trying to block off the way towards the dance area. The man looked from a grinning Clarke to a scowling Heda before realising.

 "Oh. I am so sorry Heda please forgive my insolence." He then proceeds to kneel before The Commander and Skaiheda, bowing his head. Clarke watches Lexa's face soften.

 "It is fine, remember your place next time, so that I won't have to dirty my blade with your blood." The man nods and hurries back to his concerned friends. The two Heda's watch on as their faces turn pale and look from the man to Clarke, to The Heda.

 The blonde turns to Lexa, still grinning away. "You're jealous, aren't you?" The Heda's face tightens as she shakes her head abruptly.

 "I absolutely was not, The Heda does _not_ get jealous." With that, she emphasises her point by sitting forward again, back stiff and face stern but Clarke can see right through her; able to detect the slightest hint of annoyance. She grins and runs a placating hand, discretely, down her thigh, earning a shiver and a look of warning.

 Abby, Danitele and Cane had seated themselves down the length of the table close to the two Hedas, with one of the boat clan's leaders and their second, and both the Sand clan's leaders. A light conversation entails from the present leaders, the music filling in the intervals between topics.

 Much of what's eaten is eaten by the blonde and all Lexa can do is watch on in amusement - obviously her people know how to cook. - Much of the fungi and berries had disappeared along with the meat and the only traces that made it clear Clarke had eaten them was because the other leaders had picked bits off of platters further from the blonde, so that she wouldn't growl at them for stealing her food.

 The Heda noticed Danitele, still sat there with what appeared to be a permanent scowl etched into his face. "Tell me Danitele, why is it that your pessimism exudes your optimism? Is the feast not to your taste?" Danitele jolts at being questioned, not expecting to be spoken to.

 He shakes his head, "No, no Heda. The feast is wonderful I just don't get it's purpose." The Heda's brow furrows ever so slightly and Clarke watches the interaction. "This little ... celebration is in honour of Clarke." He points at the blonde who forces herself to remain impassive."for killing, essentially, an overgrown fur-ball." He points to a painting of the pauna, displayed on the far tent post, many had gathered round it in awe, they would never guess Clarke had drawn it but she didn't like to boast.

 "It looked relatively easy to kill." He stated, Clarke could feel Lexa tense, she passed a soothing hand over her back out of the gaze of others and glared a deadly warning to the man.

 He looked horrified that he was being treated with such insolence, by a child. "How dare you. I won't stand being spoken or glared at by two ... children.” He spat. Clarke felt the growl before her sensitive ears picked it up. She was just quick enough to shoot an arm between Lexa and Danitele, stopping the woman from pouncing on him. By now the whole celebration had died out, along with the music as they watched their Heda's and Danitele.

“You would be wise to hold your tongue infront of The Commander and Skai Prisa, Daniel.” Cane spoke, he was right if he wanted to get out of this alive he'd have to shut up and put up.

“Why? So that these two … children can order me about?” He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair not expecting Clarke to take action.

He was raised into the air in a fraction of a second, by a strong calloused hand. She let her claws slowly elongate into his flesh. She heard a strangled whimper as she glared at him, Aegean eyes burning into his.

“Clarke,” She turned her head to her mother, who was now standing. “Please, put Danitele down, I will resolve the matter.” Clarke shook her head.

“No, he needs to be taught how to respect The Heda.” Her claws extended further and she felt her teeth sharpening into the space her snarl was allowing.

The muscles in her arm bristled to crush his throat but that wouldn't be nearly as satisfying as tearing him to shreds, slowly.

“Klark, as much as he has disrespected me, he is still part of the Skai people council. It will not do to have him killed for a slight … inconvenience.” The Heda had stepped into her peripheral vision, raising a hand up to the bicep. Clarke groaned, digging her claws in further then retracting her hand and dropping the man so he ended up in a wheezing pile on the ground.

Clarke looked at Lexa, dejectedly, her hand still placed upon the blonde's lightly furred one and a calloused thumb rubbing circles into the tense muscle.

Without looking to the clan leaders Lexa stood more boldly and announced, “We will retire for the night, it has been a wonderful night to host such a formality and I hope to have more celebrations like these … especially if Murphy's moonshine is present.” That earned her a chuckle.

She finally tore her gaze away and looked down at Danitele. “If you so much as utter a word insulting me or my partner, you will be seen to by me.” A few gasps issued at her using 'partner', Daniel looked up with a frown, too stubborn to acknowledge The Heda.

The Commander turns to Clarke and holds her elbow, urging the blonde in the direction of the tent's entrance. She pulled her cotton buds out, seeing as it was nor eerily quiet and she didn't require them.

But, just as she had finished pulling off the second ear bud she heard a murmur behind her, obviously only loud enough for the one tending to his neck to hear, but loud enough for her ears to pick up. She turned slowly, leaving a very confused Lexa still attached to her elbow. She growled, low and deep, baring her now fully extended fangs. She was barely able to keep her form from wavering to the Ursa's, the only sign she was able to do so were the clenched hands and fur contracting on her arms, as it threatened to lengthen.

Danitele had done it now, his now hysterical form scrambling away from the encroaching blonde. He looked like a dear caught in torch light. She scowled down at the man before him, he was being ever so childish and she wouldn't tolerate him any more.

She now stood, towering over him fingers flexing at her sides. She crouched beside him, his terrified face turning red as he fought the tears in his eyes.

“Say. That. Again.” He shook his head, Clarke growled and brought the point of her index finger claw up to his temple, digging in slightly. “I said. Say. That. Again.” He gulped and a sweat broke out on his brow.

“S-she...she's just a b-big...B-babbbby.” His whole body was shaking now, and Clarke almost felt sorry for him.

She relaxed her face, keeping her teeth sharp and her eyes coloured; before lashing out and letting a loud crack fill the open air tents, the man slumped to the floor unmoving. She flexes her fingers as she looked down at the lifeless body now lain before her.

She growled once more before standing tall and glaring at all the faces of awe and terror. “Anyone dare insult my Heda ... you would be wise not to.” With that, she turns on her heel and walked out the entrance, hearing Lexa's hurried steps behind her.

 They reach their tent and Lexa rests a hand on the small of her back and sighs, "I do not need you defending my honour Klark." The blonde raises her eyebrow at the shorter woman and humphs.

 "Danitele deserved it. Bit childish yeah, but true.." She crosses her arms and avoids Lexa's stare.

“It is not good for a Heda to kill their own people, over a petty squabble.” Clarke's eye twitched, she was turning this round on her now?

“It was not, a petty squabble. He needed to die.” She growled out, growing irritated at Lexa for not understanding.

“He would still be alive now if you hadn't taken your earbuds out. A leader had to know when to let something pass, you did not. Now the clan's unity is at risk because you lost your control.” She hadn't outright said it, but had basically called her weak, weak for losing her temper and Clarke growled, scowling down at the brunette before taking off, past tents and into the woods.

When running through the forest she couldn't keep her anger at bay any longer and felt herself morph multiple times into the Ursa's form and back again. 

She could feel the fur on her arms lengthen and her senses strengthen even more so, able to detect Lexa tailing her unintentional trail.

She stormed past many trees, scraping them with her claws or catching them with her shoulders and knocking them over.

She yells out in frustration before coming to a slight clearing, no bigger than their tent, the trees surrounding it were firs and pines and the needles littered the floor.

When she bursts into the clearing her form changes once again, to the enormous form of the Ursa, the blonde bear. She still held her markings within the fur, making her back muscles accented in places, and others simply holding the intricate markings.

She barges onto almost all the trees, knocking over just under half of them and seriously disfiguring others.

She spies a boulder, about half her size in height and length and she morphs back into her muscled, towering form. She stalks towards the huge rock, cracking her knuckles and squinting at it. - It would be perfect, throw it and her anger will melt. - she slides her hands over the smooth mossy surface before crouching and lifting it from underneath.

She makes a straining noise and her arms feel like they'll rip out of their sockets from the rock's weight. Clarke manages to lift it above her head, yelling out to the forest beyond before taking one step then two, using the momentum to lob the boulder as far away as possible.

She could hear Lexa's gasp at her angered actions but didn't care, as she was still fascinated with the way it bounced into the ground and rammed over trees, leaving dents and crates, smashed branches and crushed trees in it's wake.

Clarke's hunched over and breathing deeply from the effort, before breaking down and falling to her knees; raising her hands to her face.

A loud sob escapes her as she rubs furiously at her wet eyes. 

She feels a warm hand placed at the back of her neck, but she doesn't care, she doesn't care about that soothing hand, just the fact that she was so distraught. How could Lexa take his side like that? She should have agreed and let her, not reprimanded her for it. 

A few more heaving shudders as she took in  long,  deep breaths before she feels herself lighten, her limbs seemingly able to float. She draws her sopping wet hands away to see smaller less bulky paws, still calloused but not to the extent they were before.

This is when she notices Lexa, and the feel of movement around her …. Lexa was carrying her!

How she didn't know, but she was. She had her arms tucked under the blonde, her thumbs rubbing back and forth over the muscle beneath her finger tips.

She can feel her clothes swaying beneath her, that's when she realises her smaller form, it wasn't just her hands that had shrunk and morphed back into their previous states. 

She looks forlornly up at Lexa. The following walk comfortable although tense. They emerge from the tree line and she doesn't tare her gaze from the beautiful Commander above her. Clarke has never seen the brunette look more beautiful than in that moment. The deep blue of the sky above her, the stars and moon, the camp-fires and torch light casting orange shadows across her face, making her look much younger than her weathered features let on.

She reaches her hand up to stroke a cheek which earns her the green eyes now looking at her, softened and caring as she watches the blonde. 

She smiles.

They walk through the tent's flaps. “Lex, put me down.” She demanded, her body was starting to feel weird and she had a sneaking suspicion it won't be good.

“Put me down Lexa.” She demanded again but to the shake of a head. Lexa had slowed down now they were away from prying eyes and was taking her time in reaching their bed.

“Lexa, put me down this instant.” She receives a firm 'no' and then Lexa all out stops daring the blonde to tell her again.

Clarke grabs onto The Heda's buckle and stares her straight in the eyes. “ **Put me down…..NOW!”** She put as much urgency into it as she could, it manages to make Lexa waver long enough for her to push away from the brunette and morph into her enhanced form mid-air.

Clarke can't move as she lays on the floor, breathing heavily. - that was too close, she could have seriously injured Lexa. - “I could have crushed you.” She all but yells into the palms covering her face.

She repeats it but barely above a whisper, “I could have  _ crushed _ you.” the gravity of the situation finally dawns on Lexa and she drops to her knees beside Clarke.

“I had not realised. I watched you morphing earlier, but it has taken me this long to realise your morphing abilities. I'm sorry Clarke. I'm so, so sorry.” The Heda was trying in vain to not break down, it wouldn't do for the both of them weeping their eyes out.

After a few minutes of collecting herself, Clarke collects enough energy to drag herself to the bed, shedding the layers as she goes.  She pulls the covers up and watches as the beauty before her strips herself and climbs in next to Clarke.

She wrapes her arms around the blonde's shoulders, pulling herself to the heavier of the two and whispers into the blonde mane, “Just imagine….if you had the correct training and learnt the ways of grounders and how to fight like one, you would be unstoppable. Your intelligence is naturally higher than that of others, but with a fighting ability to match...wow.” She sounds breathless as she imagines what Clarke would be able to fight like under the ministrations of herself and Indra. 

Clarke chuckles at looking up at the face, dreaming of the future and the uncharacteristic outburst of awe.

“Yes, yes. All in good time, I'd highly doubt I'd be unstoppable buuuuttt, before any of that happens...I need anger management courses first.” Lexa chuckles. On the rare few she does, Clarke ingrains the sound into her mind, it being the most beautiful thing she'd ever heard.

Te blonde falls asleep first, Lexa just intent on holding Clarke, holding the woman she was so deeply in love with and soothing her. When the light snores fill the tent, taht's when she gives in to sleep and passes out alongside her love. Not having to worry about the children getting squished or them seeing the older two nude for once. Although Lexa sleeps nude anyway, regardless of the two little ones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> p.s. I think I've been spelling Cane's name wrong....oh well :)


	18. A Heda's heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa conducts three tasks, Clarke has no idea as to why but her friends do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, to Hawk+how -think I got that right - this is what I was suggesting 'all in good time' to. :)   
> Again my beautiful Beta reader maisyclarkson had beta'd it.  
> p.s. I don't know if I've got the tradition right :P

 It has been a few days since Clarke wrecked havoc on the forest and killed Danitele.

 Octavia was still in awe, every time she goes to the boulder sight she's always impressed by her friend's abilities. Her strength was unearthly and she's bound to be in tales and history for aeons to come. After all it's not everyday a blonde Skaikru crashes to Earth and suddenly makes her way of life with the grounders, too stubborn to see the endless differences between her and the grounders.

 Octavia, Raven, Bellamy, Lincoln and Indra had all been informed of The Heda's wish. It had taken them all by surprise, Indra enough to actually cause the scowling grounder to gasp.

 Raven had made sure The Commander was clear on the custom of asking for the parent's consent and Octavia had gone with The Heda as support and to make sure she didn't chicken out, knowing she was a little scared of Clarke's mum, even if she didn't show it every time thy met.

 It had taken the small gaggle of friends a few seconds to make sense of what The Commander was planning for their blonde friend, Raven had come out of her shocked revere and joked about The Heda 'getting some'. To which Octavia had to reassure Indra - who had unsheathed her knife and pinned Raven to the ground - that it was a Skaikru way of accepting The Heda's decision.

 They had then set about preping everything for when The Heda finally started the three tasks which would then lead to her kneeling before Clarke.

 When she will kneel, infront of the grounder and Skaikru masses, it'll either horrify their people or make a few faint and others cheer. The tasks are there to test her strength, agility and stamina and show how worthy she is to take the blonde as hers.

 That, is where they currently are. They were trying to capture a panther-snake. Mutated in such a way for the panther to be longer than it's predecessor, with the tail of a snake and poisonous fangs of a snake. It's belly has scales instead of fur, whilst the rest of it harboured an unusual sickly green shade of black bristling fur. They had managed to track it to the dense shrubbery of a a piece of the fallen Ark, it's shell forgotten and rotting.

 It was her, The Heda - of course - Indra, Ryder and Nyko; who mainly came along to ensure any injuries were tended to efficiently. He did however help, by perching amongst trees ready and primed to fire arrows at the mutant.

 Indra walked through the crumbling entrance first, with The Heda next, then Octavia and Ryder. They wanted to make sure their Heda was fit and well to actually conduct the tasks.

 They found it and it was bigger than first anticipated, it was at least three metres long, it's hunches coming up to her waist and it's fangs larger than her hand.

 It was crouched at the back of a lopsided room, growling at the intruders. The room smelt of rotten flesh and fresh blood, flies were evident and the markings on the walls were evidently gory in the faded daylight.

 Indra readied the net, made of wire. A special design from the prodigy mechanic, meaning with a push of a wireless remote the net would come alive and electrocute whatever lay beneath it.

 Octavia held the other side of the net and crept forward, treading even more lightly not wanting to anger the beast any further.

 She looked to Indra for guidance and received a curt nod to proceed. " **1...2...3** " Octavia whispered launching the net over the beast, her fingers fumbling for the remote and pressing the button before the struggling thing could brake free.

 It stopped moving after a 5 seconds of Octavia holding the button, when they tied the creature up, it's limbs still pulsing with movement, they had to be careful to not be caught by it's razor sharp claws. It was relatively light and only required Indra, Ryder and The Heda to carry it between them; hauling it's mass of fur and scales onto their shoulders whilst Nyko and Octavia kept their weapons at the ready incase fo an attack from people or animals.

 They got it back to the training arena, which had been cleared and checked for any escapes, and de-tangled it from the net and restraints. They left it under the care and guard of many a grounder and proceeded to start preparing the next task. Which was amongst rocks and all uphill or climbing.

 It would require The Heda's stamina to complete this one, she will have to clamber up the side of the rocky mountain and retrieve The Heda's flag, emblazoned with The Heda's mark. It would be wrapped round the branch of one of the fir trees near the top and The Commander will have to carefully unravel the delicate fabric from the clutches of sharp branch with as little tearing as possible.

 Once she'd done that she will then have to backtrack down the mountain face, but through the trees. Jumping from branch to branch or climbing up another to get to the next, which will show her strength and agility. - After all, they were Trikru for gods' sakes.

 Octavia was put to the task of placing the flag just so, so that it's symbol was unmistakable in the high winds at the near top. She had taken a quicker path to the one The Heda will take past the rocks and boulders and up barely visible steps, cut into the stone and earth.

 She completed that, and with a whoop jumped back down the steps to the small group. Ryder had been dismissed a while ago and Nyko had stayed with them incase something went seriously wrong and needed immediate medical attention.

 They were gathered at a distance from Their Heda's tent, far enough so that the blonde's sensitive ears couldn't distinguish what was being said.

 "Octavia, you know what to do. Indra come and Nyko tail me." They give a unanimous nod and swiftly turn to their designated roles. The Heda walking to her first task, preparing herself for the following fight, whilst Octavia went to her Heda's tent and softly opened the flap, knowing the blonde'll wake up at the sound anyway.

 She closes the flap behind her and looks toward the bed, Aegean eyes watching her carefully, querying her as to Lexa's whereabouts. Octavia let a soft smile stretch her lips, reassuring the blondie and just general doing what a friend would.

 "You're suspicious .... What're you hiding?" Octavia chuckles at her friend - she knows her too well sometimes - she carries on towards the bed, able to see the tiny bodies in compraison to Clarke curled up on either side of her under the furs. Clarke was laying down, her arms circling them both.

 "Nothing, I'm just here to tell you things...like get your arse outta bed and dressed." Her eyes narrow further at the brunette. Octavia roles her eyes.

 "Trust me. Now, I'll look after the kids while yooouuu-" She points at Clarke then prods her in the chest. "Get dressed and then follow me outside."

 Clarke reluctantly does as told, handing the children over to Octavia, who then sleepily wrap themselves around her own arms and legs while she sits and waits for Clarke to dress herself.

 She doesn't dress fully today, opting to wear her sewn bindings, waistcoat and the leather shoe things. Octavia's contemplating on what to call them when she's shoved aside and she's scowling at the blonde who proceeds to look for something.

 "I can't find my ear plugs." She says after a few more seconds of scowling and disapproving glare. The brunette scans the tent and within seconds her eyes come to rest upon the wire contraptions modified many times by Raven. They still held their original form but have metal plating to keep it together better and make it look cooler in general. At least, that's what Raven had said. Part of the new plating hugged the shell of Clarke's ear and made it look like her ears were pierced in the cartilage.

***

 She claps her hands together and gestures to the children, Clarke waits for Octavia to wake her nieces then takes them off her and tells them to dress. Helping Serenty with her mid section brace and Adgar with his shoes.

 She can feel a pair of green hazel eyes watching her and straightens her back, slowly turning to her long time friend, hip poised her eyebrow up. She crosses her arms " **What**?"

 Octavia blows a puff of air out, smiles and shakes her head. "If only you could see yourself right now princess. You're living the life. You know the dream you've always subconsciously searched for. A good partner, solidarity, stability, you've even got kids. It amazes me to see your transformation. From the blondie who stood there along with the boys, jaw hanging open as I stripped *she winks*, to snogging Lexa's face off, to being betrayed by the one who sucked your own face off, to tortured to insane levels, to The Ursa and now to you. I'm happy you've found what you've been searching for Clarke."

 Clarke smiles and goes to hug the smaller girl, making sure to give a little squeeze before pulling away, earned her a pained gasp and a laugh from both of them. "I'm happy too, and you will be soon as well. You and Lincoln, you like the Posh and Becks of the apocalypse....don't actually know what that's referring to but who cares." Octavia laughs and waves the comment away.

 "Me Posh and Becks, you and The Heda are like, power-so-fucking-hot-people-slobber-everywhere-couple extraordinaire." Clarke snorts before turning to her kids, who were perched on the edge of the bed playing a hand clapping game.

 "Okay. What we doing?" Octavia goes over to the bed, grabs the children's hands before gesturing for Clarke to follow with her head.

 They ended up just outside the main viewing gallery to the training arena, with Octavia turning to face the blonde, kids in tow. "Now, don't freak out, don't panic, just observe and have patience. It will all be explained in a good time." Clarke raised a brow at her usually to the point friend and looked past her, hearing the slight scraping of something behind the enclosed walls.

 She nods and follows Octavia into the gallery where her mother, Indra and Nyko were waiting, hands gripping the rail, intently watching something take place at the centre of the arena.

 Clarke could most definitely hear it before seeing it, growls and shouts and strains resonating from the centre of the dirt floor. She hurried forward until her own hands were gripping the bar and she was staring in shock at the brunette stood at the centre, growling back at a panther-snake whilst some grounders restrained it. It was clearly wanting to go for Lexa, it's shoulders bristling to launch itself at her.

 "ARE YOU INSANE?" SHe yells a Lexa and the people stood next to her. Octavia's the only calm, least tense one of all of them and Clarke glares at her.

 She retreats, her hands up, taking the children with her. Clarke's left to watch worriedly as the panther-snake strains to the extent that it's restrainers can no longer hold it in place and it lunges towards her love. She quickly draws duel swords and prances to the side, effectively dodging the Panther-snake's claws and fangs.

 She was laden with expanses of leather and buckles, keeping it in place, her hair's loose and she was wearing her khol; making her even more intimidating than the mutant she was currently battling.

 She lets a war cry out as the thing pounces yet again, but she doesn't move and stabs upwards, causing the beast's body to fly to the side with two long shallow cuts running the length of it's scaled belly curving round to it's side.

 It takes a second to regain it's balance before growling and stalking round in a circle, it's beady eyes watching carefully. Lexa growls again and hefts her swords urging the animal to come at her. It works and she son finds herself dodging to the left as said animal flies past. Her swords catch it's side and they're deeper then the ones in it's belly.

 It launches itself at her side, catching her off guard and manages to swipe the sword from her right hand, it goes flying and firmly plants itself in the ground near to where Clarke and the others watch.

 The crowd had gathered immensely and were watching on in awe as their Heda fights a solid wall of muscle. Clarke's knuckles were white as she gripped the metal bar, it was starting to warp into her palms, every so often a low creak or grown from the pressure would issue out into the air.

 The panther-snake goes for Lexa, this time catching her fully off guard and hitting her left shoulder, and dislodging the firm hold she has on her sword. Her arm goes limp and it's relatively obvious it's done quite some damage to her shoulder blade.

 The Ursa within her's tense, making her ooze out the worry she's feeling right now into the warming morning air. The other swatch her warily out of the corner of their eyes whilst keeping their mind trained on the fight unravelling before them.

 Lexa growls and starts circling, holding her injured arm away from the thing. She crouches low and manages to swipe one of the blades, hefting it to fit comfortably in her palm. She raises it horizontally to the ground and stares over it's edge at the beast, prowling closer to it.

 She gives a final yell as the thing hopefully, pounces for the last time and Lexa manages to sink her blade deep into the maw of the thing, almost getting caught by the fangs. It's body slumps and Lexa yanks her hand away to avoid being impaled by the fangs as it's body comically falls to the ground; it's head lodged upwards by Lexa's sword.

 She kneel infront of it breathing deeply and cradling her left arm. She gets up stiffly then proceeds towards the exit, with one last look a the thing she catches Clarke's eyes before walking out and the blonde's running out of the gallery's doors in search of her love. 

 Octavia tails her and she helps guide the blonde to where she'll find her love. She eventually finds her at the foot of a great rock slide. She notices the red fabric fluttering from the wind at the top and gasps, knowing exactly what Lexa's going to do next.

 But before she can stop her girlfriend from doing anything, she's already a sixth of the way up. Using one arm and jumping from slippery rock face to slippery rock face.

 The crowd was now gathered behind Clarke at the base of the mountain, unknown to Clarke there were knowing smiles all round and a sigh in the air at young love. 

 Lexa jumped from face to face, slipping once or twice; once she misjudged a rock face just enough for her to slip and face plant a bush off to one side of the rock, from not being able to keep from falling with both arms. A yelp had unnerved the blonde but her mother and Raven had stopped her from running to her love's aid. She got up in time and continued with her task. Seemingly pointless as it was and paid no mind to Clarke's occasional yelps and sharp inhales as she expertly manoeuvred over the rocks and boulders.

 She was nearing the top and Octavia came up next to her to watch more intensely with the children. She grinned, seeing Clarke clench her fists as Lexa nearly missed a rock face she was jumping to.

 Lexa was now clambering up the tree, to where the flag hung proudly from the branch to which Octavia had wrapped it round. It took a few minutes of careful work, but she managed to prize the flag off the branch and hold it high above her head to show it was clear of the tree, it was lopsided though, no doubt from her shoulder. 

 Cheers and whoops from their people erupted around Clarke, and she couldn't help herself from smiling a little. She felt Octavia lean in at that point, "Now for the good bit." She grinned up at the questioning blonde before nodding her head back to where her girlfriend was currently preparing herself to jump.

 She gasped and stepped forward a few times, before catching herself and stopping. She was now the only one in the clearing facing the rock face with their people behind her, staring up open-mouthed as their Heda completed each of these tasks, with an injured shoulder and obviously exhausted to such an extent.

 It was deathly silent, the gasps audible from the blonde with every leap Lexa did. Grabbing securely at a branch and gaining her balance before preparing for the next leap of faith. There was a moment of scare when she jumped and the branch made a threatening crack and Lexa just about managed to scramble up the trunk before it fell the couple fo hundred feet down. 

 She was almost to the bottom now, with two trees left before she can safely jump to the ground. She launched herself and grabbed onto the trunk in her desperation to finally reach the blonde and almost ended up falling from slipping on the mossy branch. She took her time on the last leap, this tree was the smallest and flimsiest looking tree from the root Lexa took, and Clarke's fists tightened around the leg of her bottom bindings.

 The hairs on the back of her neck had been poised from the moment she entered the gallery to the training arena earlier on in the day. Her teeth grinding in anticipation and her tenseness never leaving her muscles as she watch Lexa risk her life for nothing. It was completely pointless her completing these tasks, all for what...Clarke's approval? Her respect? She doesn't know but by the time the woman finally reach the ground Clarke almost killed her for almost killing herself.

 The brunette paced forward and stood squarely before her, looking up into glistening Aegean eyes, full of worry for the brunette. 

 Bu then she knelt, something absolutely no-one had predicted, apart from Indra because she had confided in her general and had been ranted at for doing something expressing so much weakness.

 Lexa cupped her hands into her stomach and looked up at Clarke, eyes full of sincerity and love and a few other emotions. This woman may not have many facial expressions but her eyes were a whole other level.

 She would not kneel unless....unless- " **Klark kom Skaikru, Ursa, Skaiprisa, Skaiheda and my love**. Will you take me as your wife? I have shown my abilities and my worthiness to be yours, I am asking you infront of our people as Lexa, _not_ The Heda." Clarke had covered her mouth with her hand in shock, - this was actually happening. To her of all people. No wonder Octavia had a heart to heart with her that morning. 

 Lexa retrieved something from a pouch attacked to her belt and brought it up for Clarke to behold. What lay in her palm was the most perfectly sculpted dagger Clarke had ever seen. It's pattern swirled eloquently round the handle and it's blade curved elegantly into a point. It was four times bigger then Lexa's hand and it must have weighed a tone if the metal was anything to go by. It was cast iron and the handle tip harboured a cyan coloured stone, wrapped perfectly in leather bindings.

 Clarke drew her hand away and swooped down, pulling Lexa into a bone crushing hug. They ignored the sudden sound of yells and bustling bodies as they celebrated their Skaiheda accepting The Heda's marriage proposal. 

 She whispered a yes into her ear before nibbling the shell of it lightly and then moving down to capture the thin, soft lips of her girlfriend. Lexa's hand found it's way into blonde tresses and Clarke melted into the touch, her heart beating a million miles an hour.

 They kissed, until they could breath no more and pulled away, a shit-eating grin splitting Clarke's face and a smirk covering Lexa's.

 This girl Clarke was witnessing, was indeed not the Commander, nor The Heda, but Lexa and Clarke was thankful that she had read the blonde well enough to realise that if she ever wanted the blonde Skaiprisa to accept she'd have to be herself infront of her people. To lower her walls once to show her affection.

 They stayed kneeling in the hard ground, holding each other for a few minutes savouring the blissful peace after the proposal, before Clarke remembered her anger.

 SHe opened her eyes and tightened her hold, pulling the brunette closer to herself, "Don't you _ever_ do that again." She growled. She accented her annoyance with a bite to the cord of muscle between her neck and shoulder which earned her a whimper reminding her of another reason to be angry. "And why the hell, did you not stop? YOu could have injured yourself further with your shoulder like that. The amount of strain you put on your body must have been unbearable and I might just have killed you if you'd have died doing those tasks." Lexa chuckled at Clarke's waffling and took the Skaigirl's lips in her own, effectively halting the blabbering.

 Another cheer from the ground and they were up off their knees and walking hand in hand to Octavia and their children, "Klark is going to check my shoulder now, keep the children with you and Lincoln until one of us comes to get them." Octavia nods and starts nudging the confused children in the direction of her and Lincoln's tent. They couldn't understand what Lexa had said and were worried, so Clarke shouted after them.

 " **Do not worry, we'll get you soon**." The kids gave two little nods before facing back in the direction they were heading, intent on having a good time with their Auntie.

 She heard a quiet groan from beside her and looked worriedly to Lexa, who was holding her arm and uncomfortable expression plastered on her face. "Okay, we need to get that looked at don't we?" 

She leaned down and pecked Lexa on the lips, "I love you. This was perfect even if it was impractical and stupid on so many levels, but oddly romantic." Lexa grinned painfully at Clarke before they both turned and started heading back to camp.


	19. Explanation

Okay, so, it may seem a little wierd as to why I haven't written in absolutely eons, but that's down to the fact that I have my GCSE's soon, which means a butt tonne of revision and just general not having the time or chance to write another chapter. I'm struggling to write even the bare minimum for one of my other fanfics which has much shorter chapters and it's been even longer for that one to be updated. However when I find the chance I will write another chapter and trust me, it will be amazing....I hope :P


	20. Ton DC

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ooohhh, the departure and what'll happen next? Heads may or may not roll if Clarke can help it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally gotten this chapter done, lol, glad now, I can rest in peace up to the exams, #petrified

 "I'm still finding it hard to believe you actually carried on. What would have happened if anything permanent resulted from the neglect you issued yourself? A retarded arm? amputation? Death for not being deemed fit enough to continue the Heda life? I really, _really_ don't want a dead love, not another one." She finished with a whisper, her eyes burning from un-shed tears.

 Lexa gripped Clarke's considerably larger hand, pausing her ministrations to make the blonde look at her. "I would never leave you, not now you're my people." That helped lessen the idea of another love dead. Clarke smiled a little and sniffled.

 She went back to tying the sling keeping Lexa's arm up and comfortable, she'd had to pop it back into it's socket resulting in a shout of pain, angry shouts, threatens from Indra and a few others to Clarke and one infuriated Heda.

 They were in their tent, Clarke having examined her shoulder on the way back and announced it wasn't too major; but it was enough to render Lexa to one arm for a while.

 "There, now .... what should we do now? Am I right in assuming you have cancelled everything for today?" She nods and Clarke raises an eyebrow thinking she'd cancelled everything for a different reason. But Lexa's confusion was evident, amplified when Octavia burst in shout-singing "someone's gonna get laaaaiiiii-ooohhhhhh.....?....Sorry" and hurried back out before Lexa could set her wrath upon her.

 Clarke laughed at Lexa's irritation and tried to contain it but ended up snorting and laughing louder at the action and the wide toothy grin Lexa harboured. "I still do not know what this, laid, is but I'm unwilling to assume it's referring to something sexual?" Clarke nods, still laughing.

 She eventually calmed down and sat smiling warmly at her love. She reached for the free hand and held it loosely over her lap, drawing loose patterns into the palm. "Where will we have the ceremony?" Lexa 'lifted' Clarke's hand to her lips earning a smile from Clarke at the sweet gesture, but unable to do it without needing assistance form Clarke in lifting her incredibly heavy limb.

 "What about, Polis? I've never taken you there. I'd like to fulfill the the suggestion from before the mountain. You will love it there, so full of life, so calm, peaceful. I know you will like it Klark." Clarke grinned and leaned her forehead to Lexa's, looking from deep green haven to deep green haven.

 She eventually whispered out, "I would love that". She retreated looking down at her feet, digging softly into the fur beneath them, the claws of one foot, trapped beneath the other, just barely grazing it's underside. She continued to mutter, "I-I....I'd like to do it as Clarke though." She looked up to meet Lexa's eyes, concerned and puzzled. She carried on to stammer.

 "As in as Clarke, before the Ursa, like in my smaller form and like, I don't know, the smaller, more vulnerable me, you know the one not evident in change. The one you fell in love with, before anything, any of this happened. I want to be married to you in my weakest form, to show how much I trust you. Because I really, really trust you Lex, like if I could choose between trusting you and solid ground, I'd trust you; and that didn't really make sen-" She was cut off by Lexa kissing her, not the first time to quieten her waffling but still just as sweet and still caught her off guard. A muffled Mff- came from Clarke as she grinned into the kiss.

 Lexa had just stood up, leaning down to Clarke, who sat on the floor, when Octavia re-entered, red faced and clearly flustered. "I um, sorry?" She wrung her wrists and looked away. "I kinda thought, not realising Heda would be here, that um, well." She slaps a hand to the back of her neck, looking up timidly, her face growing ever redder along with Clarke's grin and Lexa's raising eyebrows.

 Clarke looks down to Lexa having stood up upon Octavia's entrance, and smirks at the still raised eyebrows. "I'll see you later Lex?" She looks up and nods then exits, the tent flap closing swiftly behind her.

 Clarke's grin still hadn't fully washed away by the time Octavia started squealing and jumping about, waving her fists around in excitement. "Aaaaahhhh, CLARKEY POO'S GONNA GET HITCHED!" The blonde laughed and so did Octavia.

 "Wait, where are the kids?" She starts towards the tent's exit before a hand brushes against her shoulder in a useless attempt at slowing her down.

 "Relax, they're with Raven and Lincoln." Clarke reluctantly stopped and turned round, seeing the still obvious excitement in the young warrior's eyes.

 "Oh. My. God. Oh my god. ohmygodohmygod, we need to get you a dress we need to sort catering, we need to get invites, although the list'll be _really_ small on our part." She squeals again and Clarke can't help but laugh at Octavia's eagerness.

 "Ha, I can't believe my friend's more enthusiastic about it than me. And p.s. I'm the Skaiheda, the Ursa, marrying the Heda, the Commander, this thing's gonna be huge, everyone will be invited dipshit." Octavia giggled nervously having not realised.

 "Good point, where you guys gonna have it? in a field? Meadow? ooohhh, what about infront of a lake, with a waterfall backdrop, oh oh and white and pink cherry blossoms and cherry trees, and Lexa looking all smart and sexy in her ceremonial attire, and you in your white dress. THE DRESS, oooohhhhhh, gonna have blue, and white, and furs, and a fucking rainbow cape and all that crap. It's gonna be magical." She sucked in a big breath, ready to flow into her next description and ideas but Clarke stops her with a slight shove to the shoulder.

 "No silly, well yeah actually the dress and Commander attire does sound good, but we're going to have it in Polis." She waits for the recognition to glisten in Octavia's eyes before carrying on. She grips the brunettes upper arms lightly, "and you'll be maid of honour." Octavia's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Well, along with Raven of course." Octavia grins again and nods.

 "When will you go?" Clarke thinks for a moment before nodding and replying. "three days time, when me and Lex leave. The ceremony won't be for a while, don't know how long a while will be though."

 "Speaking of which I need to consult in Lex for the amount of days before our departure." Octavia nods and steps aside as Clarke picks her staff up, the hard wood one and proceeds towards the tent's exit with the brunette in tow.

 She steps out and into the blinding sunlight, all eyes on her, obviously having waited for her to reappear and congratulate her. But, before they can do so she turns to Indra who had been posted there instead of next to her Commander. " **Where's Lexa? And why are you here and not next to her?** " Indra's frown lessens a little from scowling at the slight crowd that had formed infront of her two Heda's tent.

 "She had requested that I stay and guard you, I tried arguing but she threatened to 'kick my arse' as Octavia so kindly put it. She is talking with her consultants in the war tent closest to the Skaikru's camp." Clarke nodded and looked around over the tops of heads and tents, spying the offending object from where she stood.

 She grinned and looked at those in her path, they all stared up wide eyed as she smiled and slowly traipsed forward. Indra and Octavia tailing her. Fancy Indra actually staying to protect the blonde, normally she seems like she's trying to get any kind of out, away from Clarke.

 The more people they passed, the shorter the felicitations became, the closer she got to seeing Lexa again.

 The last few stragglers had dispersed and Clarke and the other two had set a relatively fast pace in order to get to The Commander.

 She timidly opens the tent's flap, remembering the last time she was a little too enthusiastic and ripped the front of it off instead of just opening the flap. It resulted in a dead tent, blushing blonde and Lexa trying to retain her smile infront of her generals and consultants.

 She spies Lexa at the head of the war table with three advisers one side and five on the other. Lexa looks up and nods to Clarke, gesturing to her side before looking back down and continued her hushed conversation with two consultants from opposing sides of the table. She points to a plot of land on the map just as Clarke reaches her side before turning to the blonde.

 "We're discussing which route would be best, considering the winter's only just gone and also which would be easiest for you." Clarke smiles and nods at her fiancée - oohh so good to call her that - can be so empathic even if she denies it.

 "We don't have to go a really roundabout route just for me." She says and points to one that leads over rock and forest ground, one of the faster trails evident on the map. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Lexa nod along, bracing her hand on the table, her other arm in the sling. Without intention they get closer so their shoulders just barely graze and Clarke can't help but smile.

 "If we go that way, we would be heading away from the river. We can't last the two day journey without watering the horses." One of the advisers spoke up, a balding man with too much beard and not enough hair. Lexa hummed and Clarke nodded, along with the rest of the room's occupants.

 "Well, what about that one, it's not all up-hill, plenty of water, pretty straight forward." Clarke mentions, motioning towards a slightly curved path, leading through the suburbs of Ton DC. There was a lot of shrubbery either side of the trail and Mount Weather held as a backdrop to keep direction clear.

 "It is decided, we shall take the South trail." Lexa dismissed the advisers and turned to Clarke; not before turning to Octavia and Indra. "You shall not hear". They nod and face away, knowing if they listen it will likely end horribly. Octavia had come a long way to do this sort of thing, not gossip about what she hears, she was infamous for it back on the ark.

 Clarke's grip around her staff tightens as she watches Lexa's face melt, the young beautiful woman breaking through the stoic, withered mask. She is still beautiful with her mask on, kind of a fierce 'I'll kill you if you so much as look at me wrong' beautiful.

 " **You are so beautiful, how do I deserve you?** " Lexa whispered, reaching a hand up to swipe a thumb over a pale cheek. Clarke leans into the touch and smiles, letting her eyes slide shut.

 Clarke leaned down to embrace the brunette, accidentally managing to crack Lexa's back - she still hasn't _quite_ gotten used to her strength yet - and hearing a light huff from beside her ear. She giggled and apologised. " **Sorry, I keep doing that, I can't help hugging you tight**." A shy smile came about the blonde's face and Lexa smiles, all the while keeping her arms wrapped firmly around the blonde's neck.

 "I do not mind my love, it means the muscles in my back are more relaxed, resulting in a more fluent body and mind, not tense and irritable. But just being around you is enough to satiate my needs." Clarke blushed and pecked the girl on her cheek.

 "Flatterer." They spent a few seconds watching each other, happy to casually map out the other's features. "When do we leave for Ton DC?"

 Without missing a beat Lexa replied. " **Two days time** , I still need to help prepare the horses and warriors for the ride. Which reminds me, I have a gift for you." Lexa swiftly turned heading towards the flap, Clarke watching her bum in the over coat, she grinned when the brunette looked over her shoulder and smiled, seductively curling a finger urging Clarke to follow before leaving, Indra on her tail.

 Clarke leaned down to whisper at Octavia, "I was close." They shared a giggle before Octavia had to become silent again as Clarke entered her tent with Lexa, leaving Octavia and Indra outside to stand guard.

 A lot of rummaging through one of the draws in the chest-of-draws, Lexa pulled out a partially wrapped in cloth box. She quickly covered the showing wood before turning to face Clarke and stalked towards her, an innocent glint in her eye.

 "I never had the chance to properly court you, this would have been my final gift to you before the proposal but you were too perfect to hold it off any longer." She guided Clarke to the bed and sat down, placing the box on her lap and patted the side next to her, Clarke sat a little further away from Lexa, the fact being that her weight caused the mattress to dip considerably.

 "You were just too irresistible and I didn't have the will power any longer. Octavia said you like 'big romantic' gestures and so, I ended up dislocating my shoulder, but I would do it over and over if only to see your face after doing so. You're my soon to be **houmon**." Clarke grinned and placed a big paw on her knee and softly squeezing.

 Lexa smiled back and looked down at the box, she carefully unwrapped it and presented it to the blonde with a timid smile and slight blush. Clarke took it off her, careful not to accidentally crush the embellishing trinket and opened the lid. Lay in deep blue velvet was a hair pin, a bird of some sort, made of white gold, it's wings tipped with an intricately placed silver lace; and it's eye held a single blue topaz obviously chosen to compliment her own Aegean blue eyes.

 Clarke sat in shock for a moment, her breath taken away by such a beautiful object, she was disturbed from her revere by an apprehensive "Klark?" Clarke's smile never wavered as she looked up and felt a single tear escape her eye. She leaned forward, fervently kissing Lexa. She sighed out at the feel of warm lips.

 She broke the kiss off and leaned their foreheads together, breathing each other in. Breaking the silence with a barely there whisper, "It's gorgeous, just. Like. You" She punctuated each word with a peck to both cheeks then the lips. She pulls back and looks down at the hair pin.

 "Could you...could you help me put it in?" Lexa nodded and gestured for the blonde to turn. She did so, thinking Lexa would slide the pin in, but after a few moments and quite a few tugs on blonde locks, Clarke realised Lexa was re-braiding her hair, a simpler style to hold the pin, to compliment it. Clarke smiled at how soft Lexa was and rubbed the top of the foot that stuck out along her thigh. A quiet murmur of approval resounded and she smiled further.

 When Lexa had finished re-braiding her hair, she reached round Clarke, leaning her front into the blonde's back and nibbling at the neck and jaw exposed to her from the new style of braid, before collecting the pin and sliding it into the top of one of the knots. Clarke stands once Lexa had and they smile at each other, Clarke leaning down to pick her staff up and then both leaving to oversee the preparations for the journey.

***

 Clarke had been given the pauna furs, sewn in such a way for it to appear to be a cape but could wrap around her like a toga, keeping her warm in the harsher environments. The hood was made of the pauna's head, and when up made her look even more menacing with her muscles, height and Ursa aura. The blue sash that hung through the layers of clothes was covered by the cape, bar an inch sticking out the end if the cape were to be used as a toga. She wore her full attire, consisting of her bindings, waist coat, 'shoes', top, trousers and of course her blue sash.

 The day before and that morning, Lexa had helped her braid her hair and place the pin in, Clarke not trusting her clumsiness to not break the delicate metal form.

 She was stood amidst the small group of grounders travelling with her and Lexa, letting chatter and laughter fill the air. The warriors were glad to converse with the blonde and vice versa.

 She looked to Lexa, who had just been handed a pure black stallion and was checking of items with Indra. They finishes doing so and Lexa mounted, graceful as ever, her cape billowing out and over the horse's hind quarters. She looked up at Clarke and she grinned back, eager to finally start the journey.

 It would take them around two days, having to stop for the horses and Clarke to make sure they replenished their energy.

 They took off trotting, leaving the grounders and Skaikru behind. Clarke speed walked beside The Commander. A loan scout went ahead, two grounders rode on either side of the two young leaders, two behind and one with a kart bringing the rear. It was considered offensive to have riders infront of the Commander.

 They started in silence, content to ride with little conversation. Clarke mostly enjoying the freedom of jogging, The Ursa enjoying it even more so, so much so that the blonde had to keep a check on her form; however she couldn't help her claws growing, she could feel every stone and bit of dirt drag past each individual claw and it was heaven, she'd never felt anything like it before and she got a little too carried away, sprinting ahead for a good couple of metres before slowing, grinning and falling back into her jog alongside the horses.

 Lexa chuckled, " **Try not to get too carried away my love, we may lose you otherwise."** The grounders closest to them all chuckled at Their Heda's light banta and Clarke rolled her eyes, turning to face the brunette whilst still jogging, staff tucked firmly under one arm.

 "Me, lost? Pfff, Losing me's like losing a horse in a field of flowers." They chuckled again and soon fell back into the same comfortable silence, steadily making their way towards Ton DC.

 After a few hours Clarke started to tire, she told the others to carry on, Lexa leaving a single grounder with her against Clarke's wishes, she knew they were extremely close to the village and didn't need to worry about direction.

 She scooped water into her mouth, offering to fill the grounder's skin while she was there but he declined and stood guard not so far away. She smiled at the grounder's innate ability of complete silence. Even Lexa, at times, gives minimal answers, opting to just sigh contentedly or coo over the children.

 They had left Adgar and Serenty under her mother, Raven and Bellamy's care. They would join them in Polis later into the week.

 But for now, Clarke had to focus on slowing her breathing. She walked back to the grounder, offering one last time to fill his water skin, but with a shake of his head, declined ad started urging his horse in the direction of the village. She caught up to him and they set off, his horse at a full gallop and Clarke sprinting.

 It seems almost like a race, almost like she was challenging the grounder, he somehow knew and accepted. At different points along the trail they broke out infront of the other, but eventually Clarke slowed and the grounder pulled ahead by a couple of metres.

 She grinned but kept going, the gates to Ton DC visible through the tree line.

  **"KEEP GOING!** " She yelled, he sped up even further and broke through the tree line with a proud yell and a bellowing laugh.

 Clarke broke the tree line too, and jolted to a stop, something had hit her side. She looked down and found a red feathered arrow sprouting from under her ribs. She brought a shaking hand to the wound and sucked in jaggedly.

 The blonde looked up to the shout, quite clearly Lexa and smiled weakly at her love. Of course she should have expected some negativity towards her, after all how often is it that a 7'8' muscled giant comes bowling through the tree line in quick succession to the grounder she was chasing.

**"STAND DOWN!"**

 " **KLARK**!" She sat down roughly with an umph, air escaping her as her staff wobbled before falling from no stability, it rolled a good few feet away from her as she kept staring at the arrow.

 "Klark, look at me. Look. At. Me!" Lexa had reached her by now, having hastily dismounted a few metres away and run the rest. Clarke looked up and smiled.

 "Hey Lex." Lexa smiled back, clearly worried.

 "We will get Ton DC's healers out here, the one who shot the arrow will pay." Clarke shook her head and gripped the brunette's upper arms.

 "No, no, don't don't do anything...n-now. Is the a-arrow head, sticking out?" Lexa crouched and maneuvered to behind Clarke, she came back and shook her head. "Right, Oka-y....okay. I want you to snap the barb off once I've pushed it through." She reaches for the end but is stopped by soft hands. She looks up and sees an intensity in Lexa, her deep green eyes displaying so many emotions.

 "What if you injure yourself further? I don't want you to do this Klark." she smiles and gives a placating squeeze to the hand Lexa had stopped her with.

 "I will be fine babe, it won't hit any vital organs, remember I'm a healer myself." She chuckled, and found that to have been an incredibly bad idea.

 She sucked in a few deep breaths preparing herself for the next few seconds of absolute agony. The onlookers had been long forgotten and Clarke really couldn't care less, she wanted the foreign body out so she can breathe better.

 She looked at Lexa reassuringly, whether it was more for her or for Lex she doesn't know. Just as she started smiling, she shoved the feathered end further in with a yell and grind of teeth. She felt it pierce the skin of her back, but not her clothes and she stopped. Waiting for Lexa to snap the tip off.

 She could feel The Heda lifting the material out of the way and sighed as smooth fingers traced around the recent wound. Without a word the barb was snapped off and Clarke jolted at the sudden pain, inflicted by the movement.

 She sucked in a few more long breaths before gritting her teeth and yelling as she dragged the rest of the shaft out, pulling blood out with it and a gasp of relief, her rib cage now able to contract normally and allow her to take in the needed oxygen she used during her race with the grounder.

 "God. Lex can...can-n. You g-get my stafffff....please?" The brunette nodded and hurried over to her staff. She managed to pull the staff to Clarke determined to help the blonde as much as possible.

 "Okay, okay, aaannnddd hup." In one slow, drawn out movement she heaved herself up, her staff sporting most of her weight. She took one shaky step and decided her staff wouldn't be enough.

 "Get the fence post now." Lexa stayed by Clarke's side, not wanting to venture too far and leave her love suffering by herself. She rested a hand on Clarke's forearm and she smiled at the sweet gesture.

 She could feel the blood slowly soaking through her layers, her wound tearing further from the awkward stance she'd taken up to keep herself standing, because once she's down, she's down.

 One of the grounders that had accompanied them helped another carry the post between them. It was tall enough and looked sturdy enough and Clarke hoped to God it would hold her weight.

 They handed her the make-shift staff and she groaned, able to balance her weight out a little more. She proceeded towards the village fence, groaning and grunting with each step, Lexa straying not too far from her side, keeping her reassuring hand atop her forearm while Clarke slowly but surely made it past the fence and into Ton DC.


	21. Telepathy?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why does fate hate Clarke? and ooohhh the sights.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys may start to notice a lot of restraining going on in this fanfic, seriously Ha, I really don't have that kink.

 She'd just managed to stumble through the door to a little mud hut, before collapsing onto the furs on the floor. She didn't have the energy to carry on to the bed and if she had it would have snapped under her weight anyway.

 A long, low groan was let out when she hit the soft furs.

 Her hand clutched tightly to the material whilst the other was holding her side. The pain was similar to that of a stitch, the kind after a long run; but ten times amplified.

 Lexa had issued orders around before disappearing into the hut after Clarke, the village healer close behind.

 The Heda was knelt beside the blonde's head, running soothing fingers through her blonde tresses, watching the healer like a hawk. " **Heda** " She bowed her head in respect of her Commander. " **I need a hot blade. Please, make a fire and heat your knife blade**." Lexa reluctantly got up, stuck her head out the door, so as to not stray too far from Clarke, and ordered about three grounders to gather fire wood.

 She was back at Clarke's head not a moment later. The healer had moved Clarke's massive paw away from her injury to apply the pressure herself, using a dense soft fabric.

 " **Ursa, I need you to roll onto your side**." The blonde complied with a whimper as she struggled onto her side.

 The door burst open and one of the three grounders entered holding plenty of fire wood. He piled it up in the makeshift fireplace near the bed and lit it, before bowing to his Heda and leaving.

 Lexa got up, walking backwards so as to not take her eyes off the healer or Clarke and held her dagger in the now roaring fire, effectively sterilising and heating the blade up.

 " **She was right in the fact that it didn't hit any vital organs, but it still managed to burst a blood vessel and is bleeding more heavily than it should**." Lexa heard Clarke moan, almost approving of the healer's description.

 Lexa had held the dagger in the flames for a good three minutes now, the blade glowing white it was so hot, she must remember to thank the grounder. She brought it over to the healer, tentatively handing it over to the healer over Clarke's shoulder. " **She needs to be restrained**." Was all Lexa got. The healer unwilling to carry on until she had been pinned down.

 Lexa growled at the amount of dawdling but got up and stepped outside. There was a collection of her warriors poised and anxious waiting near the door, she picked out five of the strongest and ordered for four stakes and rope to be brought in.

 She swiftly turned back round waiting near the entrance to the hut, uncharacteristically clenching her hands from worry. Her face expressing nothing.

 Not thirty seconds later and the five warriors enter with the materials carried between them. The Heda directs them to different places around the groaning figure on the floor.

 They hammered the stakes into the ground, as deep as the dirt would allow and wrapped the rope around the blonde's wrists and ankles, firmly securing the ends to the wood buried into the ground.

 They took a hold of the ropes and limbs attached to the ropes, Lexa staying by Clarke's head, stroking through the tangles and knots in the blonde curls, whispering assurances. Without any more hesitation the healer started.

 The roar that ensued from the blonde was ground moving, rattling all the bones in their bodies. She fought against her restraints, muscles tensing. " **HURRY UP!** " The Heda yelled at the healer, who had just finished the exit wound on her back. The air that filled Lexa's lungs smelled of burnt hair and smouldering skin.

 She knelt on the blonde's hip to keep a steady hand and started on the front, the entry wound taking longer because it was more torn. Clarke's abdominal muscles were tense making it even harder to get a neat cauterisation.

 But after a few seconds both wounds were cauterised and Clarke was whimpering, writhing under the hold of the warriors and restraints. She was breathing heavily and Lexa was barely holding back the damn of tears. " **Leave us**!" Without another word they all left, the healer included.

 Her tears rolled freely the moment the door clicked shut and leant down to lean her forehead against the sweaty pale one below her. She stayed like that for a few minutes before gathering her senses and taking the initiative to cut the ties. Clarke's hazy eyes following her. She tried to speak, "L-Lex-"

 "Shhh, do not speak my love." Her eyes closed and lifted a heavy arm out, resting on Lexa's thigh, either to know Lexa was there or to reassure both of them. Lexa sat cross-legged infront of Clarke running a hand over a hairy forearm, her tears drying up as peace washed over the blonde in sleep.

 Half the day had probably passed before she was disturbed out of her stupor by a knock on the door and Abby's voice floated into the room. Clarke stirred, but not enough to wake her from her dreams.

 She had wrapped a fist around Lexa's sash, the other fisting the fur beneath her. "Enter" She called out, just loud enough for Abby to hear.

 The door creaked open slowly revealing Abby and the healer with a relatively large pot of what must be a healing salve. She gestured for them to enter, pushing a finger to her lips upon their entry. They nod and kneel next to her. She hadn't stopped stroking Clarke's hair, and didn't intend on stopping any time soon.

 The healer set about applying the salve, obviously soothing the wound and skin around it that had gone from subtle to an angry red. The salve was tinted green and had little clumps of what looked like leaf. Clarke hummed in her sleep at the feel of the salve and Lexa and Abby couldn't contain the matching smirks at her innate ability of expression.

 " **Thank you** ..." The healer smiled and bowed her head.

 " **Selien** " Lexa smiled.

 " **Thank you** **Selien**." She didn't apologise, The Heda apologised to no-one - well apart from Clarke, but she's an exception. - She dismissed the girl and sighed, Clarke's restless sleep now much calmer and the death grip she had on her sash had lessened. She turned to Abby.

 "Thank you for coming at such short notice Abby." The chancellor nodded and smiled, waving the young leader's thanks away.

 "If it's down to my daughter or future daughter in-law, I'd do just about anything." Lexa let the corner of her lip rise partially in acknowledgement of her soon to be title. "Which reminds me, the messenger you sent for me advised on bringing my medical kit with me."

 Lexa nods and watches as the older woman starts rummaging through the small bag at her hip. A small sound of triumph and a raised hand with an orange bottle told Lexa Abby had found what she was rummaging for. "I brought some remedies to prevent fevers." She rattled the box, forgetting the sleeping form infront of her and cringing when the blonde pulled a face and groaned. It reminded Lexa that she shouldn't keep the blonde's ear plugs in whilst lain down. So, with a lot of effort and request for Abby to help her, they rolled Clarke back slightly to get at the ear plug under her head and then rolled her forward, retrieving the one from the other ear as well.

 Lexa put them to the side and then made to get up but a tug on her sash told her she wasn't going anywhere. "Could you get the furs from the bed Abby?" The woman nods and stands up, pulling the thick furs into her arms along with the two pillows that were there. She brings them back to the couple on the ground and with Lexa's help, gently lifts Clarke's head to slide the pillows beneath.

 "When do you plan for the wedding?" Lexa takes a few seconds to think then turns to the woman, her fingers back to carding through Clarke's hair and occasionally grazing a pale cheek.

 "Clarke and I have decided in about a weeks time, it is to be in Polis. She has also informed me of the tradition of honeymoons?" She looks to Abby to check her pronunciation, a nod and small smile indicates for her to carry on.

 "We have something similar to a wedding, it involves a blood bond and it's traditional for a Heda to have a week long celebration. Although only two of the eight previous reincarnations had ever gotten married. It's just as extravagant as your wedding, possibly even more so, especially seeing as two Hedas are to unite."

Abby frowns at Lexa, "Two Hedas?" Lexa nods.

 "Yes, I am Heda, Commander of the twelve clans and Klark is Skaiheda and Wanheda, Skai commander and commander of death. She has been recognised as Heda from her deeds and titles. That is why she is Heda also." Abby nods, the frown furrowing displaying displeasure.

 "I don't like the term Wanheda." Lexa shakes her head and looks back at Clarke.

 "You should not disagree with her title, she has earned it and is respected for it. She is seen as a goddess amongst my people, she is called it out of admiration not spite. Some do not agree with Klark's new form and abilities and her power, which is why she was taken from us before she became Ursa. Some wish for me to kill her believing I would gain the power she has. But if I marry her, and for every night we share the same bed, it's thought that I gain her power and she gains mine, effectively making us equals ." Clarke whimpers slightly, shivering, the hand clutched onto Lexa's sash ventures, looking for something, the blonde frowns but gives up with her blind search and reaches for Lexa's hand instead, squeezing it tight.

 "Some will still try to assassinate one or both of us, but that is a price to pay for being leaders, we will always be under attempts on our lives and targeted for power or wealth." Abby nods, she had rested a hand on the blonde's thigh and was slowly trailing her hand up and down the fur covered leg.

 "You definitely suit each other. You understand her, I had hoped she go for someone like Bellamy but it has taken me this long to understand and see where you're coming from and why she's forgiven you."

 "She has not forgiven me Abby, do not make that mistake, It's more like she's accepted why and how I made that decision. She understands that it's your people over your lives. But that will not matter the sooner our people are joined. We won't have to worry about hurting the other to appease out people and their needs."

 "You make it sound so easy, like this marriage is for diplomatic rea-"

 "It is _not_ for diplomatic reasons Abby. Yes there are benefits, but I am doing this out of love; I love your daughter and she loves me." She had turned to look at Abby and was too irate to notice the barely conscious blonde, smiling.

 "Love you too Lexi." She turns back to her fiancée and smiles, running a finger over her cheek shushing her.

 " **Go back to sleep Klark**." The blonde lightly hums and closes her eyes again. But not before offering a heart-warming grin up to Lexa.

 "Yes, she couldn't have chosen better. I will keep repeating myself, but if she ever comes to me with an injury inflicted by your hand, I will be the first in a long line of people to personally see to it that you no longer retain the title of Heda." Lexa solemnly nods.

 "If that would happen, which it will not, I will hand myself over to you, bound to a pole." They nod at each other in understanding.

 A comfortably tense silence fills the room, Clarke's snoring dispersing the tenseness of the air for a good two hours, before another knock was heard. This one slightly louder and more urgent than Abby's had been.

 Lexa asks Abby to open it silently, who nods and gets up to answer to the door. The moment she does however, Octavia bursts into the room accompanied by Raven and two very, very distressed children.

 Clarke sits up the moment the door's open, her head swivelling to the two little bodies held by Raven. She growls and Raven quickly passes the crying kids to their respective mum. They immediately quieten down and curl up into Clarke's hold. She shushes them, holding them tightly as she slowly lowers herself back to the furs underneath her and in the blink of an eye all three were fast asleep leaving a bewildered Mum and Heda, and two panting best friends.

 " **Close the door**!" Lexa whisper shouts, Octavia acting straight away and closing it as silently as the creaking hinges will allow. Raven collapses onto her hands and knees, whilst Octavia bends over, resting her hands on her thighs and they both take in big deep breaths, regaining their composure.

 "Octavia, what is the meaning of this?" Octavia looks up and straightens, her chest rising and falling greatly, still trying to get oxygen into her lungs.

 "I was with .... Raven andBellamy ... when they started ... screaming, they wouldn't quiet ... down." Raven nods and sits up leaning back onto her hands.

 "Mmmhh ... they somehow ... have thisweird ... telepathic sense .... or something like that...because they start calling for .... Clarke." She blows out a long breath and visibly slows down, having finally taken in the amount of air needed.

  "So we got on a horse and came here as fast as we could. It was weeeiiirrrd, they seemed to calm more, the closer we got." Lexa frowns and turns to her small, dysfunctional family. The two still relatively small bodies clinging to Clarke like their lives depending on it, she watches them for a good part of ten minutes before she turns back to Raven and Octavia, frown still firmly set.

 "When exactly did they start screaming?" Raven thinks for a few seconds. Then shrugs.

 "Mmmhhh, I'd saaay, about nineteen hours ago?" Octavia nods in agreement. "Why?" The Heda squints up at Raven. "Oh, sorry, sorry. If you don't mind my asking Heda."

 "Better. Because that is approximately when Clarke was struck by the arrow." Octavia gasps and looks down at her friend and leader.

 "Shot? Where? Is she alright? Oh my god, why does she have a tendency for sharp things impaling her? It's like she's this magnet or something." Abby chuckles at the brunette's over reaction and goes to take them to one side, they were getting a little too loud for Clarke, which was evident in the frown punching her eyebrows down and the slight movement of her ears.

 "By an arrow in the side. She will be fine and it's typical Clarke, always the one to get into danger." They all roll their eyes, even Lexa, although the others could not see it, a bad habit she'd picked up from the blonde lain before her.

 "But that still doesn't explain how the children knew she had been shot though." At that they all turn and look at the small but deadly family in the centre of the hut. Lexa looks up and narrows her eyes questioningly. " **Sorry, sorry** ," Octavia looks away immediately, the others following realising it was offending The Heda.

 Clarke stirs with a groan, it had been just over a day since she'd been shot now and was starting regain her energy. Her eyes flutter open, scowls and then looks down at the two dead weights in her arms. She then glances up and at Lexa, who gives a reassuring squeeze to the hand still trapped by hers and then over to the three bodies anxiously moving in the corner. She turns back to Lexa and with a raspy voice, "You haven't threatened them have you? Because if you have I swear Lex."

 Octavia bursts out laughing and moves to kneel on one side of the blonde, running her fingers through Serenty's hair, still chuckling. "Heda has every right to threaten us Clarke, but she hasn't so don't fret." She nods and looks back down to the two in her arms.

 "And. How and when did these two and you two get here?" Her mother had brought a stool over to the three in the middle gesturing for Raven to take the seat, she accepts and sighs, her leg finally off the weight. Abby then sits beside Octavia.

 "Well, this is gonna sound super weird. Basically these two *Raven gestures to the children* have this telepathic sense with you? Like a kinda, sorta, link. You know like a radio. They started crying and calling for you. And Lexa says it was about the same time as you were shot. At one point we thought they were going to explode they were that upset, and that was about an hour? or so after they initially started crying and screaming." Lexa blinks.

 "That must be what you were searching for earlier. When you were asleep you reached out but couldn't find the object to which you were looking for." Clarke's scowl had turned into more of a bewildered glare as she looked from child to child to Lexa, to child, to one of the other three and back again.

 A firm knock "Heda, the salve needs to be applied again." Lexa's knocked from her thoughts at Selien's interruption and beckons her in.

 Clarke carefully passes the two curled into her to Lexa then shoves the furs down to reveal her torso. She took off her pauna cloak, waistcoat and shirt with surprisingly little difficulty and rolls onto her side. They all gasp at the sight f the wound.

 It had already started to take the form of a scar, but the skin around it was still slightly risen and red. "Oh my god, it healed that quickly?" Abby stated as she gently ran her fingers around the slight redness. The blonde frowns and looks down, running a calloused finger over it herself.

 "It didn't heal this quickly when I was stabbed by the Ice clan's leader."

 "Nia." Everyone looks to Lexa, then remember what had happened earlier and look away again. "She is the leader of the Ice clan." She watches closely as Selien applies more of the salve, seeing all the tenseness in Clarke's body leave her as more is applied.

 "It may have been because you were still injured from the torture and the cells were still working furiously hard to multiply in time to replace any damage, effectively slowing your healing rate and absorbing much of your energy at the same time." They sit there confused, even Selien, at Abby. She sighs, "the more injuries you have at any one time, the slower the healing rate is."

 Selien, puts the salve away and heads to the door, leaving quietly, the only one watching her go was Raven. Who was quite clearly watching her butt with each step.

 "Okay, so, what have we l-" Octavia was cut off by Adgar, who had woken up and was now whimpering, wanting to be held by Clarke. Lexa hands him over, pulling Serenty more fully into her lap. "learnt? That Clarke and the kids have this insane telepathic connection, she heals super fast and Adgar prefers Clarke over Heda, sorry, and that this is delaying the wedding." They chuckle at her and Lexa's death glare.

 Clarke yawns and settles back onto her back. "You know what, this floor is super uncomfortable." Raven laughs at the sudden change in topic, slapping her knee in the process. Even Lexa smiles infront of all of them. "WAIT!" she turns to Lexa. "What happened to the one who shot me?"

 "He has been put in a cell until you are well enough to decide his fate." Clarke shakes her head, but is thankful she didn't kill him outright.

 "Okay, so, that needs to be dealt with. He was most likely not informed of my...stature shall we say." Lexa nods along.

 "But he still shot my future houmon, I will not stand for that. He will learn the consequences for his actions."

 "Lexa, no."

 "He has to learn Klark, they have to know, yu jomp em op en yu jomp ai op" Clarke squints at Lexa.

 "No, Lexa.

 "Yes, Lexa." They both glare at Raven who reverts back to herself. They turn back to one another.

 "Alexandria, you will not hurt him." Lexa and the others sit there shocked, if slightly terrified by Clarke's use of her full name. She's clearly in big trouble now. "At least until I have confirmation of my suspicions." Lexa looks down and nods. Surprising everyone further by her open show of submission.

 "Now, I'd quite like to do that sooner rather than later, can you hand me my staff please?" She gestures to Octavia, who gladly goes to retrieve the staff still where it had fallen beside the fence post from where Clarke collapsed.

 She bends to pick it up, forgetting how heavy it actually was and gives a yelp as she stains to lift it. "Heh, haaaa, Didn't you help make it?"

 "Yes but that was ages ago, I'd forgotten how heavy it was." The strain was evident in the way the 'was' was lilted as she heaved the stick up. She drags it back to Clarke and lets it go with a loud thump. The others on either side move and she passes Adgar to Abby; who takes him and starts bouncing to keep him quiet.

 Clarke pushes the furs off fully and rolls until she's on her knees, staff in hand. She brings one leg up and slowly rises, careful to not fully straighten or risk her head going through the hut's roof. She was bent over double from the actual lowness of the hut and chuckles as the others look up at her - like ants she muses to herself.

 "Can someone pass me my waistcoat and shirt?" Octavia nods and passes the blonde the articles of clothing, grinning as Clarke struggle to put them on in the confined space of the hut. She manages it and then asks for her cloak, to which is passed to her, but she drapes it over her arm then makes her way outside.

 "Can you guys wait here with the kids please, I don't want them witnessing anything too gory if anything gory does happen." They nod the affirmative and she carries on.

 She manages to just about squeeze back through the door to the chilled morning air and sighs being able to stand up fully. She ensures her sash is properly threaded through her shirt before attaching her cloak. The black fur bristling with power as it billows around her in the wind.

 Lexa comes to stand next to her and they both watch the villagers set about their daily routine. Lexa starts walking in a certain direction and Clarke follows, albeit a bit slower, still sore from the wound.

 Gasps are heard as the blonde walks, they're obviously surprised to see the Skai princess walking so early.

 They come to a stop outside an entrance to a building encompassed by dirt and sunken half way into the ground. The entrance looks fairly new and the crude construction making it seem way more sinister than she thought necessary.

 "This is the cell block, I will have the prisoner escorted out." Clarke nods, the entrance was much smaller than the one to the hut and she sighed in relief knowing she didn't have to unceremoniously squeeze through the door and into a dark, dank, confined space yet again.

 Lexa reappears, and a few minutes later so does said prisoner, who was cowering and whimpering, clearly terrified of Clarke. "What's your name?"

 "Rene. Please, please don't kill me." Tears started streaming down his face and The Commander pulls a face of disgust at his weak mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yu jomp em op en yu jomp ai op = you attack her and you attack me  
> Houmon = wife


	22. Fishy fish fish

 "Thank you Lex." Clarke glances at said woman. Who looks on straight faced as 'Rene' was taken back into the cell block.

 "Ugghhh, will we finally get to Polis at some point this week?" Clarke chuckles at Octavia's impatience. She turns to her, who had watched on, along with the others as Clarke and Lexa murmured and muttered about Rene's fate; until a firm 'NO!' form the blonde turned the arguing brunette into a pouting grump.

 "Yes O, we will. But not before we've eaten. By which, if I'm guessing correctly, we need to go and hunt for." She turns to The Heda, who nods the affirmative.

 "Octavia come with us." She turns to Indra, who had arrived at her home town not so long ago and had then watched on as Rene was sentenced to three years imprisonment and then banished for the next five. "Collect today's hunt pack and meet us at the edge of the forest to the West." She's gives a curt nod and hurries off to do as her Heda asks.

 She shouted a few more orders for her horse to be summoned, her bow to be brought and for Clarke's proposal knife to be attached to the Ursa's leg.

 "Oh, mum. Could you get my pauna fur please?" Abby nods and disappears behind the hut's door. "Raven, would you mind staying here with my mother with the kids until we've returned from the hunt?"

 "Only if you promise to to get shot this time, I don't think my ears would be able to stand any more crying." Clarke laughs and heartily claps the girl on the back, earning a grunt and a huff from having been shoved forward.

 Her mum returns with furs in hand and then passes them to the blonde before she walks off, following The Commander.

 Clarke wraps the soft furs around her, making good use of the dark fluff, effectively blending her into the surroundings. Clarke watches as The Heda mounts and then walks up to her, turning and then waiting. A few minutes later the small hunting party arrives and they set off into the woods.

 The two Hedas walking side by side.

 "Is there a river or stream through these woods?" Lexa nods, then casts a questioning look over to the blonde. "It's just that, I'm technically a bear and, bears eat fish? I'm kind of craving it right now." Lexa grins then stops and turns to face the others who had stopped too.

 "Split off into three groups, Octavia with Indra, hunt whatever you find, but leave red squirrels and hairs." As soon as they nod, they're gone, leaving just her and Clarke. "Come Klark."

 She trots off in a completely different direction to where they were heading, The blonde soon catching up. They go over all sorts of terrain, going from the pine laden woodland to softer squishier earth and rotting trees, indicating the closeness of water.

 A few more seconds of lazy jogging and the noise of running water's picked up by her ears. She can also hear twigs and branches snapping or ruffling from the other hunt parties or woodland animals.

 They eventually fall through the last of the trees and onto a small bank, sloping down to clear running water. The other side was a few metres over but the water was shallow. The bank they were on was a good few feat in width and the only apparent one on both sides.

 Lexa dismounts and tethers her horse to a tree slightly in the tree line, out of the sun; whilst Clarke stared at the water, picking up the slightest of movements and sloshes and shimmers as the fish hit the surface or swam away from each other.

 "Hold this, this, this aannddd....this." The blonde strips, passing her 'shoes', wraps and hair pin to Lexa. Who can't help but blush at Clarke's nudity.

 She crouches by the water, letting it run through her fingers and shivering at the cool substance. She grins - lets try this morphing out then.

 Without another word she grunts and slowly, but surely, changes. Her hair growing, thickening, arms and legs buffing up and shortening and her face contorts, turning into a snarl as her bones continue to pop and strain into the new larger figure. She hears a gasp and looks down to Lexa, who was unabashedly staring at her markings. Octavia had informed her at one point of the beautiful swirls and flickers of her markings whilst she waited for the children to finish the game they had started playing in Raven's tent.

 She tried to smile but ended up baring her teeth instead. The Ursa lay down and let the trailing hand travel as high as it could reach, tracing over the black markings.

 "They're beautiful." The blonde rested her head to one side so she could see Lexa stare in wonder at her side. She whined and rolled onto her side slowly, making sure the brunette moved out of the way. Exposing her back to her too.

 But instead of feeling a hand, she felt a body pressed there instead, felt her leaning into the blonde, humming in content.

 Clarke did her closest noise to chuckling which sounded more like a growl cross hum. "You are the most perfect Klark." She rolled back onto her stomach and then stood, looking down with bug Aegean eyes before looking back to the water and the very tasty fish darting about beneath it's rippling surface.

 She lunged, taking Lexa by surprise and drenching the poor brunette.

 She managed to grab a mouthful of fish, about four before re-emerging and noticing the state Lexa was in and 'grinned'. She dropped the fish beside her and then dived back into the water, successfully not drowning Lexa this time.

 She again emerged with a mouthful of fish and placed all but one down. She held her paw to it, shook off her fur and morphed back to her former state, hand wrapped firmly round the trout she'd salvaged. It was about the size of Lexa's calf. "Next time Klark, can you please warn me about jumping into the water?" The Skai Prisa grinned.

 "Now where's the fun in that Lexi?" Lexa rolled her eyes, a bad trait she'd picked up from the blonde. "And anyway, stop complaining. I got us a butt tonne of fish." Lexa laughed.

 "I do not know what that means Skai girl, but yes, we did get a lot of fish."

 Clarke frowned, Lexa was sill blushing and determined to look at her forehead, not her eyes. "What's wrong Lexa?"

 Lexa's blush travelled down her neck, "Nothing is wrong Klark, I am just trying not to let my eye wander incase it offended you." Her frown furrows further and looked down along her still very nude, very wet body - Oh.

 "Meh" She shrugs and walks towards where Lexa had placed her clothes on the smooth flat boulder. Sits down and pats the space beside her.

 She sits. "At least put your cloak on, otherwise you will become ill." Clarke smiles at Lexa's concern, but shrugs the cloak draped over her shoulders off anyway and turns to face her.

 "Lex, babe, I'm part animal, I highly doubt I'd catch the sniffles, or pneumonia or TB." Lexa nods but puts the cloak back on the blonde's shoulders and gives her a stern look when she looks like she's about to shrug it off once again.

 "Who's the medic here?"

 "Klark!" Clarke lifts her hands up in mock surrender.

 "Okay, okay, the cloak stays." The cloak's tugged more firmly around her form and Lexa nods her appreciation.

 After a few minutes of sitting and staring out at the water Clarke sighs and starts to get up. Grunting and groaning having left her staff somewhere by Lexa's horse.

 "Here" Clarke nods at Lexa as she passes her her other garments, having dried off enough to manage to slip them back on.

 "Best be off then." They smile at each other before Clarke turns and looks longingly back at the water, before setting off to rejoin with the rest of the hunting party.

 Lexa does some animal noise, which attracts the attention of the group and soon they're surrounded by the rest of them, Octavia grinning from having a belt full of rabbits and a fox.

 Clarke had a basket for the fish she had caught and just before the hunting party left the deep dark depths of the forest, The Commander spotted a deer. She shot it and then continued to kill it properly, whispering a 'yu gonplei ste odon' and the animal falling limp infront of her.

 Clarke walks over, inspecting the animal before handing her the basket and picking the deer up and over her shoulders. Warming her neck up from the residue heat from the animal. Lexa whispered her thanks and then remounted, carrying on at the slightly hurried pace they'd set earlier.

***

 After the hunt had gotten back, the animals were taken immediately for meat and furs, leaving the the ones who accompanied the two Hedas, Indra and Octavia to set about resting.

 Lexa went to check over her warriors and wandering the village greeting those who were out as well, whilst Clarke, Octavia and Raven went back to the little hut the blonde had been in earlier. Indra skulking off to do lord knows what and Clarke would prefer it kept that way.

"You were so eye fucking her earlier Raven."

 "Octavia! There are children in here." She gestures to the two curled into her sides on the bed, fast asleep. Octavia rolls her eyes.

 "They can't even understand English O."

 "Erm, they kinda can. A little at least. Me and Bell have been helping them." Raven raised her hand a little sheepishly. "But they definitely won't know any swear words or innuendos." Clarke squints her eyes at the mischievous pair sat infront of her.

 A knock at the door, saves the two from an earful, "Clarke? Can I come in?"

 "Yes." The door opens and her mother appears, wringing her hands.

 "Lexa has provided a tent for me, Octavia and Raven. She said it would be best if you and her stay here, which is understandable. Would you like me to take the children off you?" She's now right beside the small group and Clarke nods, smiling.

 "If you wouldn't mind, and could you tell her thank you as well." She passes the two to her mum who smiles and wakes Serenty and Adgar so they can walk to the bed in the tent provided.

  **"I'll see you two later okay?"** They turn just before the door and nod, hands super glued to their nan's hands. They disappear through the door, leaving a smiling Clarke and two best friends watching their friend.

 "You really do get spoilt y'know. Even by Lexa too, in fact I think she spoils them more than you."

 Clarke snorts, and looks down to her hands. "Yeah, she does seem to have grown quite the soft spot for them. At first she was reluctant to do anything around or involving them. Heh, when she had to baby sit that first time, that, that's when she changed." Her grin softened into a loose smile, recounting the many times she'd catch Lexa actually having fun with the children and then blatantly denying it.

 "Anyway, back to you, Raven, lil' miss I have a thing for Selien". The blonde raises her eyebrows at her now slightly blushing friend.

 "Yeah, like you didn't do exactly the same to Lexa when you weren't together, seriously the tension around you guys was so thick I could cut it with a butter knife. I don't even have a butter knife and I could still cut it."

 "Stop changing the subject. Have you spoken to her?" She shakes her head. "Well, when are you?"

 Raven shrugs "I don't know, I've been pretty busy lately."

 "Mmh mhh, sure ya have." Clarke grins at a now rather flustered Raven.

 "We have actually been quite busy, buuut, still doesn't stand to reason as to why you haven't even vaguely spoken to her yet." Raven sighs, trust Octavia to say that.

 "Look, when Lex comes to get us for food, you can talk to her then. I've made sure she was invited to sit with me and Lex for obvious reasons." Raven sighs.

 "Well ... I can't exactly go, looking like this." She gestures down her body at the dirty rags she's wearing. "I'm about as desirable as a fucked over rat." That sparks a laugh from all of them.

 Clarke calms enough to speak, but still giggling inbetween, "She won't ... she won't mind. She knows you had to rush here." Raven shakes her head.

 "Still."

 "Fine, I think I recall seeing a wardrobe over there." Clarke points behind her, at a very old, withered wooden cabinet covered in dust. "See if there's at least a shirt in there."

 "I'd be fine with just a jacket if there is one." They chuckle and she gets up off her chair with a slight grunt. She pries the doors open with a grunt, the door almost falling off, to reveal stacks of clothes. From shirts, to jeans, to coats, to other items too buried under the rest to make out.

 She spots something maroon coloured and tugs it out, almost pulling out the rest of the clothes as well. "Haha, well I never." She holds it up for the other two to see, it was a leather jacket, pulled together of scraps of other similarly coloured leather. She tugs it on and it's just a bit too small to do up at the front but she shrugs and chucks it towards Octavia who's now sat on one side with her legs dangling off, mimicking Clarke.

 "Oohh, what about these." She pulls out a pair of what once must have been trousers, the legs having long since disintegrated, making them into more knee length shorts than trousers.

 "See if there are any leg straps in there and calf sleeves." Raven nods at Clarke's suggestion and rummages around for a bit before shouting a 'yes' and chucking those too at Octavia, who was slowly becoming buried alive.

 "WAIT!" Raven actually steps into the wardrobe, only to reappear with a black long sleeve shirt, that was spotless, almost too good to be true. The mechanic tugs her shirt off and pulls the other on, it was baggy but still fit.

 "Meh, I'll go with it." She looks up grinning, "Who'd have thought grounders had some old world clothes still." She then traipsed over to where Octavia was humming some song she'd heard back on the Ark, whilst stripping.

 "Gimme." She reaches her hand out to Octavia who chucks the *cough* trousers *cough* at her. They hit her in the face and Octavia laughs. "Thanks" She says sarcastically.

 They fit like a dream and she looks up waiting for the next article to be thrown at her, this time by Clarke and with a little more force than anticipated.

 She tugs the calf sleeves up, attaching the leg straps to keep them in place. The straps weren't level but she could live with that if it meant not getting frost bitten legs.

 "Alrighty, ready to get the girl?" Raven snorts at Octavia's goofiness.

 "I just thought. We don't even know if she likes girls."

 "Raven, she is most definitely into 'girls'. I have known her for years, she has never once been attracted to males." Lexa's unannounced entrance took everyone by surprise and Clarke laughs at the suddenness of it.

 "Lexa, would you quit sneaking up on people please?" Lexa remains impassive, stood with her hands held infront of her.

 "It is not my fault your people walk like toddlers Klark, you of all people should know this." The blonde winces.

 "Well, my improved hearing can't help but pick up the slightest of noises. Speaking of which, where are my ear plugs?" The brunette points to where she left them on the furs on the floor. "Oh."

 She gets up, having to remain bent so as to not take the roof off the hut.

 "Dinner is ready, if you would like to follow me." Clarke grins, hand shooting out to grab Lexa's arm before she can fully turn and kisses her. She pulls back, happy with the colour Lexa's cheeks have now turned.

 "I've been waiting to do that for a while." They grin at each other until Octavia cat calls.

 "Octavia, if you wish to keep your tongue I would suggest you not." A thump and then a whimpered 'sorry' is audible behind Clarke, Octavia having fallen off the bed to kneel, whilst Raven just laughed at her.

 "Well, to food" Raven and Octavia cheer, finally going to get some much needed nourishment.


	23. Polis?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will they finally get to Polis? What's up with Clarke now?

 After a hearty dinner of dear and fish, and in Clarke's case a nice whole raw fish, the trio make their way back to Clarke's hut to gather their things ready for the journey to Polis.

 Raven had flirted relentlessly and shamelessly with Selien, with her friends glancing over every so often. They got on like a house on fire, actually having loads in common, like their devotion to their work and disgusting sense of humour. Lexa may now regret having introduced them in the first place.

 "Come on guys, we'll be leaving shortly. What did you two even bring that takes this long?" The blonde was stood next to the door, straining to see what her companions were doing. Octavia was puttering about tidying the bed up with Raven dodging about the hut's interior seemingly looking for stuff.

 "Well, I don't know. I'm waiting for her." Octavia jabs a thumb over her shoulder at the Latino who was now buried half way into the wardrobe.  
 She shuffles about a bit before pulling back out and turning round with an armful of calve sleeves. Clarke raises an eyebrow. "What?!"

 "There are clothes in Polis you know." Raven looks forlornly down at the clothe sin her arms. "I know, but...but these look nice." Clarke crosses her arms. "Okay, okay, I don't need these." She sadly dumps them back in the wardrobe before reluctantly walking over to Clarke with Octavia in tow.

 "We might actually get to Polis at this rate." Octavia laughs when Raven gives her the middle finger.

 They step out of the small building and Clarke takes in a lung full of air, pushing her pauna furs over her shoulders. She let sit out in a long happy sigh before turning to Octavia. "Could you go get my mum and kids please?"

 Octavia nods "Sha" she then scurries off in the opposite direction they had headed for dinner.

 The blonde spots Lexa approaching with a large satchel, and walks forward to greet her. They smile and exchange kisses in the tight hug before pulling back and walking back to Raven, waiting for Octavia to return with the children and Clarke's mother.

 Clarke's also given another satchel, one that's much heavier and had to be carried by two of Lexa's warriors. She hoists them both up.

 "The horses have been prepared. Where would you like the children to be placed?" Clarke thinks for a moment, thumb tucked snugly under the satchel strap, then turns to Lexa.

 "Can you have Adgar with you, I'll have Serenty on my shoulders." Lexa nods and turns back to where Octavia had disappeared and was now returning.

 "Sha I will." She smiles to herself before turning too, to where Octavia was with the three in tow.

 The children run over to Clarke and give her legs tight hugs, before turning to Lexa and giving her waist just as tight-a hugs.

 Clarke grins at Lexa being caught off guard by their hugs. She pats the two on the back and ruffle their hair before gently pushing Serenty towards the Skai Prisa and holding Adgar's hand.

 Clarke lifts Serenty onto her shoulders with a slight squeal and giggle and then the small group make their way to the horses. Lexa's black stallion standing out like a sore thumb.

 Lexa lets Adgar turn to Clarke before mounting, Clarke crouches down, a firm grip on Serenty's legs as she smiles at the little boy. "Be good for your nomon." Adgar looks up shocked, but quickly nods his head.

 The blonde picks him up and places him infront of Lexa, who gave her hand and his leg an affectionate rub. She smiles up at Clarke before asking her horse to turn round to face the other two Skaikru and her warriors.

 She nods to the warriors who fan out and surround the small group in the middle, with Octavia next to Clarke and Indra next to Lexa. Lexa and Clarke look to Raven and Abby, they were on their own horses, having given Raven a horse that's not too wide.

 "It will be about three days until we reach Polis. If you need to stop just say." Clarke had indiscriminately directed that at Raven, knowing her knee will start to hurt from the awkward position. They both nod, Raven with a slight frown before they both tun around with Lexa giving a shout to start moving.

 Clarke sighs and looks at Lexa and Adgar. Adgar had already fallen asleep and she could feel Serenty gripping tightly to her head as she watched things pass by at a completely different height. She smiles, "I love you...Mrs Griffin." Lexa grins back and playfully slaps Clarke's arm, before tucking it back around the child.

 "I like that, Lexa Griffin, suits you." Clarke hears a few chuckles come from around them and grins. Lexa's cheeks had turned a slight rose colour, having no kohl to hide the tint.

 They start small talk between them, just loud enough for anybody else that might want to give some input. Octavia was one of the ones that joined in a lot, what with Raven and Clarke's mum quietly nattering behind them.

 It gets to about mid day before a slightly pained sigh could be heard from behind them, Clarke turns, walking backward to look pointedly at a grimacing Raven. She keeps doing so for another half hour at least before Raven sighs and asks them to stop. She'd said it loud enough for only Clarke, Abby and Lexa to hear; Lexa interprets the request so that it sounds more like the horses need a rest instead of her.

 They come to a clearing a few metres down and they all dismount, with Clarke holding a still sleeping Adgar. She watches painfully on as Raven struggles on top of the horse. In the end Abby went to help her, making the horse face away from the small group and helping to drag the brunette off instead.

 Clarke could easily hear the whispered words of reassurance exchanged between the two, even if she was the furthest away. But then again she hadn't put her earplugs in properly.

 She smiles at Lexa who was watching her questioningly before sitting down and leaning against a tree with Adgar safely wrapped in one arm and Serenty in the other. She mutters to her, pointing out what the warriors were doing and thanks Indra for passing blankets over for the children, she gets Serenty to say thank you earning her a very rare baring of teeth, which Clarke thinks is the closest she'll ever get to a smile off of the scowling warrior.

 The Skai Prisa helps wrap Serenty in her blanket after wrapping Adgar in his and leans further into the tree. Clarke smiles at any warrior that catches her gaze and they smile right back, seeing their Wanheda and her children safely tucked up.

 Lexa stops by after they'd finally gotten enough dry logs to start a fire, she gave Clarke some berries and deer meat, and a few carrots for the two snoring soundly, tucked into her arms. She watched them for a little bit, before smiling up at Clarke and carrying on with tasks around camp.

 Her warriors looked on as Lexa went to her little family, not many Heda's had lived long enough to even have a love to last this long let alone a family. But then again, Lexa was the kindest, still lenient and firm when needed but the most caring and observant, willing to do anything for her people.

 They had set the fire up near to where Clarke sat and had two hares roasting over it, along with some vegetables underneath in a pot.

 Raven had sat herself down close to where Clarke had been sat for the past twenty minutes, letting out a grunt from the distance of standing up to sitting down.

 "Abby said we should stop for at least two hours." Clarke notices the frown pulling Raven's brow down.

 "Mmmhh, don't over exert yourself Raven, you may be stubborn and pig-headed, but I'm even more so." Raven nods, her frown not leaving. She starts digging into the dirt infront of her with a stick.

 "I'd have been fine for another few hours you know" The blonde looks at her out of the side of her eye, eyebrows raised.

 "Really?" Raven shrugs and Clarke sighs.

 Lexa comes over and sits on the opposite side of her love, pressing a light kiss to chapped lips before properly sitting down. " **Heia Hodness** " Clarke smiles at her and cuddles the kids that little bit closer.

 " **Heia niron"** Lexa gestures to one of her warriors, her comes over with multiple bowls of hare and vegetables. One of the men bring over two legs and give them to Clarke, bowing to her before leaving.

 "Do they know they don't have to bow? I'm not special or anything." Lexa shakes her head.

 "No, they will treat you as they would me." Clarke nods and Raven smirks.

 "Ooohh, Clarkey here getting the special treatment." She nudges her elbow into Clarke's ribs and they both laugh, waking the children up from Clarke's jostling.

 Lexa gestures for Clarke to put her hare legs on her plate and passes the two bowls with smaller amounts of food in them over. Clarke looks at both of the kids, urging them to sit upright and hold their bowls. They do and start to eat. The blonde thanks Lexa and starts to eat her own food, groaning at the warmth and juices running over her fingers and down her wrists.

 "Your warriors sure know how to cook." The two Heda's laugh at Raven, who's almost half the way through her own bowl and had grease smeared all over her chin and lips.

 They finish eating in silence until a quiet burp erupts from Serenty making Lexa chuckle. Her warriors watching on. Abby sat to one side, watching her daughter carefully. Something's changing in her daughter, she doesn't know what, but she seems more....languid and slow in her motions. There is definitely a change in Clarke, but Abby can't quite work out what it is.

 " **Thank you ai nomon.** " Lexa smiles sweetly at Adgar and takes his and his sister's bowls off them. She kisses their foreheads and takes the finished bowls back to her warriors, still swamping the fire, trying to keep warm from the cool air.

 Clarke kisses their foreheads too and they pull their blankets back up to their necks, curling back into their adopted mum. Raven inches closer to Clarke until she's leaning on the taller woman and sighs. "How are you so warm? You're like a bloody heater." Clarke chuckles and balances Serenty on her leg, wrapping her arm around Raven so that the Latino can cuddle into Clarke and Serenty.

 "Just think Raven, we could go on double dates if things with you and Selien go well." Raven laughs and nods, humming.

 "I sure hope so Clarke."

***

 About half an an hour and a half passes by. With Lexa and few guards still awake to watch over the camp from within the trees; Abby had moved to mimic Raven with Adgar and Clarke had slumped almost all the way down to the ground.

 Lexa sees the suns position a bit further from the middle of the sky indicating past mid-day and she goes to wake the small group up. Flashing Clarke a quick smile before going to start packing up the small camp.

 Clarke wakes the children up and asks them if they want to swap where they're sat and they nod.

 They eventually finish clearing the temporary camp up and Clarke guides Serenty over to Lexa. She helps the girl up and then tugs her rucksack onto her back before picking Adgar up and surrounding him in her Pauna furs.

 She nods to Lexa and they head off again, with the same formation as before, only the guards are slightly more spread out on the wider track and Abby's now watching Clarke with an eye of a hawk.

 They continue until nightfall, where they make another camp off into a more secluded area away from the trail they're following. Only this time they stay until the first shreds of daylight ripping through the moon and stars. A purple tint decorating the navy sky and a contrast of sparkling stars and wisps of cloud.

 The guards had rotated so that Lexa and the warriors from before got to rest. The Heda opting to rest at the foot of her future houmon and children.

 Clarke takes a little longer than normal, heaving herself up with her staff and Abby stores that knowledge in the back of her mind. Lexa comes to stand by her as they watch over the guards finish packing as Raven and Abby play a little game involving running round inbetween trees.

 "How are you feeling?" Clarke frowns and looks down at Lexa.

 "What do you mean? I'm feeling fine." Lexa shakes her head and looks away from the scrambling bodies.

 "You have seemed a little a bit out of sorts lately, are you sure you are fine?" Clarke chuckles and nods.

 "Yeah, just a bit of insomnia from travelling, you worry a lot." Lexa smiles and shakes her head.

 "I cannot help but worry over my future wife." The SKai Prisa grins and leans down, diving into a deep kiss. She hears a cat call and grabs Lexa before she can cut their tongue out.

 "That's Raven showing her appreciation. A Skaikru thing." Lexa hesitates then nods, relaxing a bit. "I'll carry Serenty again." Lexa nods and heads off to help prepare the horses. She returns a moment later with a few strips of raw meat.

 "Eat." Clarke shakes her head. "Eat, you are bigger than me and the others. Eat." Clarke again refuses and Lexa steps closer, shoving the flesh up to Clarke's nose. "Klark, you need to eat. We will not suffer, the guards would prefer you eat it than them. Now. Eat." She jiggles her around a bit before Clarke relents and grabs the meat off Lexa and shoving it into her mouth.

 She moans before she can stop herself and growls at Lexa as the brunette chuckles. "Better?" She bites out. Lexa nods and turns back to the horses. "Serenty, here" A second later the young girl appears beside her, panting and giggling; Clarke raises an eyebrow before scooping her up and settling her comfortably atop her shoulders and rucksack and making sure she's swaddled up to the eyeballs in her furs.

 She walks over to Lexa who had mounted and now had a nicely wrapped Adgar infront of her, playing with the horses mane.

 Again they set off, in the same formation, and just a bit more spread out than yesterday.

***

 They repeat this process for another three nights and days, stopping more often throughout the next two days so that Raven can rest. Clarke also eats much more than normal, blaming it on all the jogging and walking she'd been doing. Every few minutes Clarke would reach into one of the saddle bags to pull out some strips of dried meat and chews on them, still not feeling quite satisfied from any of the meals when they stopped to rest.

 They had just finished packing up their last camp about five hours ago and were getting on for another rest before Lexa urges everyone to keep going that little bit longer. The trees around them thin out a little, the ground becomes less wild and covered in shrubbery and a few well worn paths join the trail they were currently following.

 Clarke looks over to Lexa for reassurance, and she gets it through a slight lilt to the corner of her lips and a squeeze to her arm. She looks back in time to see a structure so large she can't help but crane her neck up to see past the tree canopy to see the top.

 She can hear Lexa's chuckle from next to her but she ignores it in favour of walking a little bit faster to reach the edge of the tree line, only to be met with a clearing about three metres in width to a cliff edge. The blonde grinds to a halt staring down at all the roofs far below the edge. They varied in size, colour and shape, congregating more distantly the further away they got from the humongous tower at the centre of it all.

 The blonde gasps, jiggling Serenty's leg to wake her up. She feels a sudden grip on her hair as they both look over the city in amazement. "So _this_ is Polis" She whispers to herself.

 Abby, Raven and Octavia are just as close to the edge looking over the place in awe, with The Heda smiling on, proud that her birthplace is being viewed as it is.

 After a few more minutes of slack jawed staring, Lexa gathers their attention and points to a slope cut into the side of the cliff, zigzagging it's way down, where it reaches an open expanse just outside of the city's ancient stone walls, patched up here and there with newer stone and wood.

 They travel in twos down the slope, with two guards infront, Lexa and Clarke, Abby and Raven then Octavia and another guard and then the last few behind them.

 The small group reach the bottom and Clarke walks firmly beside Lexa, her staff echoing off of pebbles and rocks showing through the hardened Earth. Shouts can be heard from behind the wall and the thirty foot gates slowly swing open.

 A crowd had formed on either side of the path leading through the city, faces dirty and clean looking up a their Heda and new comers. Gasps can be heard as eyes settle on Clarke and a few cries are audible too.

 Clarke looks again to Lexa for reassurance and she gets it in a more concealed smile that only the blonde would be able to spot.

 The streets had gone silent as they steadily made their way further into the city. It was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop from a mile away. The clacking of Clarke's staff and clopping of the horses hooves the only sound to be heard as they traipsed further and further, the tower growing bigger and bigger with each passing second; looming over them powerfully.

 Clarke leans surreptitiously over to Lexa and whispers "Do they hate me?" The brunette shakes her head.

 "No Klark, they are merely curious and possibly a little nervous. You are a first in out world and your world." Clarke nods, stumbling over her own feet for a second.

 "Are you sure they're not terrified of me?" Lexa smiles and shakes her head.

 "I'm one hundred percent positive Klark." Clarke sighs and decides to smile again, trying to let the crowds see that she's completely harmless.

 They reach the tower and the group dismount their horses, Octavia and three of the guards staying with them whilst the others take the horses to The Heda's stables.  Lexa passes a calming brush of her shoulder to Clarke's arm before she walks up the steps and waiting at the top for the others to follow. Two of the guards had already flanked her.

 Clarke gets to the top of the stairs before looking concerned down at Lexa. "Will it be able to support my weight?" Lexa nods.

 "Although you may have to morph into your smaller form for a short period of time, some of the doorways otherwise could be a bit...challenging." Clarke nods and takes Serenty off her shoulders, she walks over to Lexa and holds her and her brother's hand whilst they all wait for Clarke to morph.

 She wraps her furs around her and then morphs, knowing her bindings are likely far too big for her smaller form. She strains for a moment before her body starts to shift and the gasps that erupt from behind her tell her a lot of the crowds from before are witnessing her.

 She groans as her back shortens, it had always been the more painful of all of her body to change.

 Lexa smiles at the now fully morphed Skai Prisa and urges the blonde forward to grab her hand; which she does after a bit of manoeuvring of her cloak and slipping her bottom bindings off before they fell off.

 Lexa chuckles and they make their way fully into the building. The walls were relatively plain, but a clean ivory, mirrors dotted the walls and at the end were some double doors. Lexa leads the small group to the doors and takes them inside.

 Surpisingly the floor changes froms tone to a metal grate, revealing massive cogs and machinery far bellow them. When they're all settled into the weird room, Lexa gestures to one of the guards faces at the door porthole. He disappears and not so long after the blonde can feel themselves moving, the machinery below them starts creaking and groaning as they turn and the scraping of metal on metal bursts from one side of the gridded floor. "It is alright, it is just the gears, they have not been used in a while."

 Clarke looks over the children holding tightly onto Lexa's hand and each other's, looking down through the gate in amazement. She smiles.

The grid eventually comes to a stop a few minutes later and the guards open the doors, letting the room's occupants out into a different level of the tower. The corridor is long. On both sides, directly opposite each other are two identical doors, and at the very end, facing them is another set of double doors, with two warriors posted outside, their spears crossing at the centre.

 Clarke yawns.

 "Come." Lexa pulls Clarke and the children forward by their hands, the guards immediately open the doors for The Heda and she thanks them.

 The room that is revealed is so grand the group stop. Shaken by all the grandeur and the thrown sat atop the raised platform. Curtain shreds hang from poles all the way round the room, with a large opening behind the throne. Chairs line the walls and candles are placed on just about every surface available in the room.

 Clarke forgets for a moment at how tired she's suddenly gotten. Too engrossed in looking up and around the room. tapestries cover the exposed bits of wall and lanterns and trays hang from the ceiling with even more candles in them.

 Lexa moves forward, leaving her family behind, she flies up the steps and behind the throne where she urges the others to follow her. Clarke leaves her staff leaning against the throne and is the first to step past the fluttering drapes, Adgar ad Serenty not far behind. She picks them up and they look over the balcony, at the bustling city bellow them. A few shouts from down below had carried up on the wind and Lexa inhlaes deeply, the winds rustling through her curls.

 The blonde places the children down and inhales the sweet floral air, her larger form slowly taking over again as she slowly loses her grip on her smaller form. She yawns again and sways with the breeze for a moment, enjoying the moment of peace and clarity.

 Lexa stretches her arm out, resting it on Clarke's lower back and ruffles Adgar's hair. Clarke leans down slightly to whisper, "I could get used this Lexi." Lexa smiles and and leans into Clarke when she brings a paw up to rest on the brunette's shoulder.

 "I might...go and lie down...for a bit now." Clarke says, her words distorted by yawns. Lexa nods and gestures for Serenty and Adgar to stay with The Heda.

 The brunette turns back round as Clarke lumbers off, followed by Abby. The guards open the doors and one of them calls for another to show the pair to their rooms.

 Abby's led to hers first, she thanks the guard but carries on walking with them, concerned about Clarke. Clarke's led to a much grander room; which is much, much larger and much more grandeur. There's an open area to one side much like in the throne room, and carved folding screens line one side of the bed that's sat in the middle of the wall to the right.

 It's impressive, the layout is and the furniture, but the wall decorated with rusting, battered swords, axes and even a mace; was a little off putting.

 The Skai Prisa immediately darts for the bed, striping down to nothing as she goes. She flops down onto the bed heaving out a loud sigh; Abby goes to sit beside her daughter.

 She rubs her exposed back, "Are you alright Clarke? You've seemed very tired lately." Clarke groans and shakes her head, not wanting to say any more. "Are you sure?" The blonde nods her head, before it shoots up with her nose twitching.

 She snuffles the air for a couple of seconds, looking around the room before her eyes come to rest on a bowl filled with fruit, from peaches, to apples, to pears and grapes. Clarke heaves her tired body back up, off the bed and grabs the bowl from the table it was set on. Swiftly turning round to face her mother who frowns at her mouth full of apple.

 The Ursa stuffs a few grapes into her mouth before sitting heavily back down, concentrating intently on the bowl infront of her. "You don't normally eat quite this much Clarke, are you sure you're alright?" Clarke mumbles around her mouth full of peach and moves to lean against the headboard; the bed creaking intensely as she move.

 Abby carries on frowning, even as she silently leaves the room, letting Clarke feast on the fruit in peace. She will look further into it tomorrow, but for now she's exhausted and really can't think straight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ai hodness - my love  
> heia - hi/hello  
> niron - love/lover  
> nomon - mum/mom


	24. Walkies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke's a lil' tad bti sleepy, the gang does some research.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't updated in a while have I? Ha, meh, I've updated now, enjoy :) p.s. this is a relatively short chapter because the next chapter has the parts I want to write next in it, instead of squishing it all onto this one.

 It isn't until late morning when Clarke finally wakes up, and even when she's awake it's almost like she's in a constant state of drowsiness. Only dressing lightly in her sewn bindings and pauna furs.

 Abby discretely watches her throughout the day. She'd mentioned something odd happening to The Ursa to Nyko who also kept an eye on the blonde.

 The Tower's occupants had settled in the dining hall for dinner, The Heda, Ursa and their children seated next to Clarke, with Abby sat next to Serenty and Indra sat next to her Heda.

 Large plates, piled high with food came in, followed by a large bowl of dear meat and berries for Clarke. Abby could hear her daughter smacking her lips from where she sat, a humoured laugh from Lexa and wobbling trays carried by terrified servants.

***

 "Klark, you are scaring the servants." A rumble from the blonde's chest is the brunette’s reply.

 The bowl was barely put down when she dived in, swallowing pieces whole, sparingly glancing up from her meal.

 By the time Lexa had gotten half way through her own meal the blonde's bowl was slammed down and Clarke was looking round to see if there was more food. She chuckles, offering her own dish, which the blonde scoffed as well without delay.

 She slammed that dish down too.

 The blonde scrapes her chair backwards, glaring around the room searching for more, her nose twitching faintly, her limbs tense.

 Lexa stands up too, having felt the atmosphere slowly deteriorate from calm to tense in a matter of seconds. She places a gentle hand on her love's forearm, earning her a twitch of a budded ear. "I know where there is more food."

 She smiles when Clarke turns to fully face her, waiting expectantly for the brunette to lead the way.

 Her spirit laughs at the Ursa.

 Lexa walks briskly to the nearest exit, a hyped up blonde following and leaving a room full of tense bodies.

 She walks all the way through Polis, through areas not yet seen by Clarke, but at the moment she doesn't seem all that bothered about sight seeing. At the end of one of the many streets, where one of the five main gates into Polis, has a horse waiting for her.

 She mounts, a restless Clarke bouncing from foot to foot off to the side. She looks at her before taking off out through the gates, the blonde hot on her horse's heels. She grins, her adrenaline rushing through her bones and the wind through her long curls.

 A deep growl echoes out from behind her making her laugh at her love's antics, she speeds the horse up into a gallop, jumping the occasional tree and slowing down to pass through streams.

 She eventually comes to a stop and ties the horse to one of the many oak trees, looks behind her to find no warm blonde giving her a dopey grin. Her light panting turning to laughter when she hears a loud splash.

 Lexa carries on through the woods by foot, knowing Clarke had found the lake and was already diving about catching the plentiful fish.

 She finally emerges from the forest to find Clarke stood goofily, sopping wet with a large salmon clutched in her hand. Clarke's hair dangles infront of her face, making it very hard to see the blue of her irises. Lexa grins and flops down next to the clothes strewn about close to the water's edge. She picks up the ear buds and places them carefully on-top of the pauna furs.

 She laughs out loud as the blonde dives into the water side ways, having eaten the fish in mere seconds of spying her next catch.

 The blonde continues doing this until she's caught at least nine salmon and Pike alike, eaten five and throwing the other four over to Lexa to keep a hold of. She bounds out of the water, tongue lolling out of her mouth and flops down at Lexa's feat.

 The brunette laughs and leans forward, rubbing a very nude Clarke on the belly. "You're getting round. It's adorable." She prods at the slight protrusion of the blonde's stomach, where the muscles are jutting out from the extra weight she's put on in the last few days.

 Clarke pouts. "Lexie, just because I'm eating a lot, dun't mean I'm getting fat."

 "I never said you were fat, I'm saying you're getting pudgy, and that's adorable."

 Clarke's cheeks turn maroon, having never thought she'd ever hear her love say adorable, no matter the context. "Meany".

 "Cutey." She starts scratching at the muscles earning a groan, followed closely by a deep purr; the blonde's tongue lolling out again as she starts panting.

 "You like that?" Lexa coos. If any of her warriors were to catch her cooing to The Ursa she'd be killed where she sat. But, seeing as it is just her and Clarke, a really cute panting Clarke, she really couldn't care less. Clarke's being adorable, case and point.

 She grins down at the blonde, who'd closed her eyes out of pure bliss.

 The Heda kneels up, swings a leg over the girl's waist and straddles the blonde, still rubbing her belly. Blue eyes slowly come into view and peer up at her.

 Lexa stops the belly rubbing in order to lean down and kiss her fiancée. " **You look so beautiful**." The blonde smiles, showing slight fangs; her hair's splayed out around her head, one of her hands tangled in it with the other holding Lexa's thigh.

 Before she can even blink, she feels her back hit the ground and hear a splash as the blonde dives back in; clearly still hungry.

***

 "Where did you go? We've been worrying about you for hours."

 Clarke rolls her eyes at her mother's fretting, she looks over to Raven.

 "She's been worrying for hours, I haven't. Your lil' kiddie winks are all tucked up by the way." Clarke gives a smile and nod in appreciation and then looks back towards her mum.

 "Where is Octavia?" Lexa strides up beside Clarke, looking at the pair infront of them. She's clearly concerned for Indra's second.

 "She is keeping watch outside your room, where Adgar and Serenty are. Indra's stood outside. Selien coming and going." A small smile spreads over Raven's face at the mention of the healer and Clarke smirks.

 She nudges the brunette with her elbow, raising an eyebrow knowingly and then walking off, further into the tower to get to her and Lexa's bedroom.

 Occasionally grabbing fruit, berries or anything in a bowl that's edible. She leaves a trail of cores, pips and the occasional grape vine, her love following distantly behind, picking it all up.

 "Klark, must you leave a trail of rubbish?"

 The blonde in question looks over her shoulder, stops walking to let Lexa catch up and then shrugs. "I hadn't realised I was doing it to be honest." Lexa watches as yet another core is thrown over her shoulder, almost hitting a guard in the face.

 The brunette grabs a bowl in passing and holds it out to Clarke who throws some pips in, closely followed by a grape vine. Lexa gives an approving look, "better."

 They reach The Hedas' resides, Indra and her second immediately straightening their backs and bowing their heads. Clarke carefully pushes the doors open, taking in the curled up forms of her children before muttering a quick 'night' to those who were listening, before carrying on further into the room. The doors close firmly behind her.

 Lexa hears a few bits of light conversation from the other side of the door, between Clarke and who can only be Abby who had gotten to the Heda's resides before Clarke and Lexa; before the doors open carefully again and the older woman steps out.

 She looks sternly at Lexa before frowning, worry etching the harsh lines in her face to make them appear even more deep and stressed than normal.

 "Today, when you went off with Clarke, did she eat?"

 The Heda nods, letting her hands come together comfortably behind her back. "Sha, she ate many Salmon and Pike. On her journey up here she ate much fruit. I have no doubt that she is eating at this very moment."

 She gestures for Octavia to open the door, who lets it swing gently open to reveal the blonde stood by one of the cabinets scoffing a bowl of apples, before she lets it swing closed again.

 "This is all very...concerning behaviour, it reminds me almost of an animal; to which I don't know." Lexa nods.

 "One would say she's in the early stages of hibernation." Abby frowns, unfamiliar with the word.

 "Hibernation?"

 "Sha, to which an animal sleeps through the colder days, typically late Autumn, through winter to early Spring."

 A wave of realisation passes over the medic. "Like a bear. Oh My God, Clarke's going into the stages of hibernation! She's showing signs of being torpid and is eating far more than she needs to."

 Lexa nods along, frowning; she looks up. "Octavia, ensure you know where the elders are, Indra will stay here, I will be in my rooms. I will conduct research tomorrow. Goodnight Doctor." She tilts her head respectfully and continues on through the doors.

 They close swiftly behind her, hearing the hurried mumblings of Clarke's mother, scurrying feet following close after.

 She smiles when her eyes come to rest on a finally still blonde, who'd been constantly moving throughout the day, usually eating or talking about food. She's curled around both bodies in the bed with her, leaving just enough space for herself to curl around the other side of the two, and comfortably within the clutches of the Skaiprisa.

 She strips bare, bar her tight under-shorts and settles in behind Adgar. his rhythmic breathing and Clarke's occasional soft purr lulling her to sleep.

***

 Clarke didn't even wake the next day, grumbling and mumbling into the pillow clutched to her chest when Lexa tried to wake her.

 Her, her second and her second's second all went researching, Octavia and Abby opting to stay and read on hibernation and bears, her and Indra going out to elders and hunters Octavia had managed to compile a list of the night before; who've had more hunting experience and knowledge of the wild than the Heda.

 Adgar and Serenty were taken by Raven who was just happy to have something to do and Selien went to 'check' on Clarke every so often - really Lexa believes it's because Raven's in there with the children.

 However, the young healer did come to update her on the blonde, whether she's woken up or eating, or even moved in her sleep slightly. All of which did happen, but only in minimalist amounts when awake, and even then she was like the walking dead.

 Her and Indra had returned from the days exertions to share what they'd found with Abby and Octavia, who had taken many pages worth of notes and were currently brainstorming in one of the five meeting rooms in the lower three levels of the building.

 "What have you found?"

 "Well, we decided to split it up, doing research on bears themselves, I knew Indra would most likely ask about hibernation and eat and sleep patterns; so we did the general animal research."

 Octavia holds up a list labelled 'Major'. On it were notes, clearly from various books dotted about around the two women.

 "We found that, since everything's been affected by nuclear waste, we thought the bigger mammals had been too, for example the two headed dear we came across in our first few weeks on Earth, and the Pauna you and Clarke were chased by not soon after."

 Indra goes to sit next to Abby at the large circular table, scanning through some of the pages, all labelled differently. Lexa resorts to standing stock still, hands firmly clasped behind her back as she squints and looks away, absorbing all the information she knows she'll be bombarded by.

 "We did do a little bit of research into hibernation, so I'm going to start with that." Octavia places the sheet she was holding down, scans through a few before finding the one she must have been looking for.

 "This one's on brown bear sleeping habits, I don't know if there are still many varieties of bear, but according to these old texts, there were. Brown bears usually hibernate for 152 days to 213, and that's for adults. They're usually nocturnal, but have a general increase in activity around dawn and dusk."

 "Clarke does seem to have a tendency anyway to be a little more awake at that time." The corner of her mouth lifts slightly as she remembers many days where she'd fidget and wake the children up, both tending to moan or whine about having been woken up.

 "In spring they tend to double up on fat ready for hibernation. Clarke has definitely grown more flabby recently hasn't she?" Lexa nods.

 "Sha, she definitely has." Her face turns set in order to keep the smile from pressing forward as she remembers the day before which consisted of her rubbing and scratching the blonde's belly.

 "OH, here's a good fact, brown bears form hierarchy’s based on age and size. You might be in for some competition there Heda." Indra scowls at her second who immediately clears her throat, wiping the grin off her face and looks back at the paper.

 She continues on to mumble, "they're also very assertive in dominance." She blushes and looks completely away from the table and the occupants of the room surrounding it.

 Lexa squints at the brunette before looking to Indra, who leans forward nodding. "That all sounds very similar to the information we collected from around Polis and the few villages outside.

 "There wasn't all that much on black bears, so I just did a generalisation of what I could find." The Heda nods for Abby to continue. "Black bears have many forms to show aggression, such as grunts, snorts and growls. They also show signs of contentment such as mumbles squeaks and pants. Their senses of smell, eyesight and hearing are far greater than a 'dogs' and far surpass Humans. What is a dog?"

 "Much like a wolf, but domesticated."

 "Right....they also feed on fish, a _lot_ , which explains why she keeps going to the rivers." Indra hums.

 "Clarke has more black bear tendencies than to brown bears, but she still has a good mixture of the two from what I've seen; we may not have even scratched the surface of her habits."

 They all hum at Lexa's conclusion before Selien bursts into the room, slightly out of breath. "Clarke's run off, Raven said she got up, said she was going somewhere and didn't come back.


	25. How many more days?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lexa and Indra find where Clarke's gone. Clarke's got her blanket mountain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Looks like we're even further from the wedding.

 The heavy breathing and thundering hooves of her horse and of the one behind, completely drown out the noise of nature.

 Her heart's in her throat and her eyes are constantly flitting about, the sun is slowly lowering and the bird's are quieting down for the evening. " **HEDA**!" She swivels in her saddle, almost falling off when her horse shoots to the side. " **Over there**!" She looks over to the left, where her second's blindly pointing.

 Indra has seen ALten Weidehügel. It's aptly named due to the nearly two hundred year old willow tree that still stands next to a large pile of Earth, a small entrance to the mound merging with the tree to form a rock and wood cave.

 But it's the leg, now disappearing into said entrance, that draws her attention in the first place.

 "Klark!"

 She slows her horse to a fast trot, reaching the slight clearing in seconds as she avoids branches and fallen trees. "Klark, please."

 She stops a few metres away from the centuries old tree. It's rope like branches being blown quietly to cover the entrance to the cave. "Klark, what are you doing?"

 She dismounts and leaves her horse for Indra to deal with as she slowly approaches the cave's entrance. A light rumble echoes out of the entrance and it sounds distinctly like one of the blonde's grumbles when she sits down.

 "Klark?" The brunette makes her way past the stone walls, the highest of it reaching a good one and a half metres above her head. She slides in, her hand trailing along the mossy surface as she goes.

 The further she travels, which isn't far, the dryer it seems. There's less moss and more bone dry stone. The large tube curves round slightly, cutting off even the strongest of sun rays and casting everything in a deeper grey than the cave's mossy walls. The slight curve opens out into a relatively large sphere, just big enough for Clarke to lie lengthways one way.

 "Oh, Klark." Lexa smiles at the blonde who's tucked into one corner, curled up, with her arms gripping her shins and her head tucked firmly between her knees. "Klark, what are you doing?" She asks softly.

 The blonde grunts, making her whole body ripple with the noise and the solid floor beneath the brunette's feet vibrate.

 She kneels beside the blonde and rests a hand on her leg. She looks from one end of the curled up form to the other, she's barely able to see the girl in this low light. "Why did you come here? You worried me."

 She untucks her head and peaks at Lexa, revealing no more than a hair covered forehead and bright blue eyes. "I dunno." She mumbles, her lips clearly pressed to her legs as Lexa tries decipher what she's just said.

 Her hand smooths further up onto her shoulder and she squeezes just enough for the blonde to feel it.

 "I just kinda....wanted to come here. Well not here." She gestures with her eyes to the cavern around them. "I just felt the need to, y'know? Like instinct." Lexa lets out a relieved sigh and nods.

 "You just worried me my love. Do you want to go back?"

 "Will there be a pile of blankets?"

 Lexa looks at her quizzically, "blankets?"

 Clarke buries her face shyly, here eyes even less visible than before. "I really want a pile of blankets, the bed isn't comfy." She huffs and the brunette nods.

 "Yes, there will be blankets and all the food you can eat." The blonde's ears perk up at the mention of food. "And anything else you want Klark, just please come back." She lets her hand travel down the muscled arm and into the stocky hand still gripping her pale shins.

 The blonde yawns and stretches, letting herself roll onto her back and just slumping onto the hard stone. "This is not comfy." She pouts.

 Lexa laughs, she leans down to kiss the pout away and then leans back up just enough to whisper, "well,let's go back home. You're mountain of blankets awaits!"

 Clarke opens her eyes and looks to Lexa.

 She smirks and sighs. "Fine."

 "Good. Come on." Lexa moves away from the bulky figure just enough for her to sit up and then pull herself into a crouch. Lexa swipes a thumb over a pale cheek and smiles warmly. She pecks the blonde's lips and then pulls back, looking over every dip and groove on her creamy skin. "Come, Klark."

 The blonde nods and is soon following Lexa out of the cave and back into the late evening sun. "Heda. We must travel fast to be back before dark." The Heda nods and then looks to Clarke who's in the middle of yawning.

 "Indra, travel ahead and prepare a nest of blankets for my Skaiheda." The dark skinned woman nods and is soon galloping off, her mount's hindquarters soon disappearing behind a young oak tree.

 "It really is beautiful here." Clarke hums in agreement and then helps Lexa up onto her horse, even though the brunette had no need of help.

 Before they entered Polis, it's walls easily seen through the forestry, Lexa turned to Clarke who's striding along, taking slower steps than her horse's hurried paces. "Don't do this again, you worried the children ... and me." She adds after a pause, wondering, is she really becoming this weak?

 No, no she isn't.

 Clarke looks over at Lexa and smiles tiredly. "I'm sorry, I just...it was an impulse."

 Lexa nods and then turns back to face the encroaching city walls. She feels a large warm paw come to rest on her back and she takes comfort in the fact that, although the blonde's tired, she's still found enough energy to lift her arm.

"You even left your staff, Skaiheda." The Heda keeps facing forwards but she can just see Clarke turn her head with an eyebrow raised.

 " _Sorry mum_." She says sarcastically. The brunette turns to her, her brow furrowed low in confusion.

 "Klark....I'm your girlfriend, not mother."

 The blonde sighs. "No it's...It's just a. Ah umm. It's a skaipeople thing." Lexa watches her for a moment before accepting the answer and turning back round just in time for the gates to open and the small crowds to move, bowing to their Heda and Ursa.

 They make it to Heda's tower in record time and Clarke is soon stumbling into their room.

 She grins as she passes the kids, who are snuggled up under the thick pelt on the ebd, and goes to kiss their foreheads before she spots the mountain of blankets thrown into the corner closest to the bed. Her eyes stay trained on the cloths even as she undresses further from her sewn bindings that she'd slept in previously.

 She yanks the awaiting bowl of fruit and nuts off the vanity and goes to bury herself in the furs and blankets. The fruits in the bowl are her favourites, from blackcurrants to sunflower seeds and even black grapes, the sweetness is just superb.

 She's soon comfortably cocooned within her blankets, munching at the food she'd sought out and is soon purring, which she knows can be easily heard through the lower levels.

 She knows her small family will take comfort in her contentment and she soon falls asleep to this comforting fact.

***

 "How many days until she wakes?"

 "52 before the start of the gap Heda." She nods to her guard who leaves, then looks to the mass of blankets and furs, it's moving ever so slightly and the light sound of her snores can be heard.

 Serenty and Adgar have gotten pretty sleepy as well, about the same time as Clarke went into hibernation.

 Both Abby and Selien often checking the woman, both struggling to pry the blankets away from her to check her vitals; of which everything is healthy but she is losing weight. Her ribs can now be seen peaking past her pale skin.

 Lexa and Octavia often wash her, using simple bathing techniques and Raven ensuring she drinks, even if she does it whilst still asleep.

 "Mum. Mum." She looks down to Adgar who's tugging at her sleeve. " **Does that mean mummy'll be awake soon.** " She smiles and nods.

**"Sha, another few weeks and you both will be able to play hide and seek with her**." She smiles at the thought of the game her love had introduced to them, the blonde actually being surprisingly good at it considering her size.

 Her children have both gotten more comfortable with using the endearing term, their English has improved well, enough to understand what's being said but not how to say it.

 Her people, they have accepted her and her family with open arms, always trying to give her things or getting the children to sample sweets, like chocolates and pastries.

 The first time the pair had ever seen a pastry, their eyes had blown up to the size of saucers and Lexa could even hear their stomachs rumble. Their late mother had never been able to afford such a luxurious food.

 Their reactions to the taste were even better, Adgar actually being silent until he'd licked every last bit of cream and crumb from his fingers and Serenty grumbling as she ate, Clarke's mumbles and grumbles have definitely rubbed off on the girl.

 "A few weeks too many." Serenty mumbles and she crosses her arms annoyed. But then she walks forward, unwinds the blankets and furs covering her mother and then snuggles in, curling in-front of the woman who unconsciously wraps an arm around her.

 Lexa feels a tug on her hand as Adgar tries to follow but the brunette's grip on his little digits prevent him from doing so.

 She smiles apologetically down at the boy before letting him go and watching as he half flings, half slides over the two already there. He too, is soon fast asleep leaving the only one awake to watch over them.

 A few minutes later, the brunette finds herself propped up on a rocking chair near the mass of blankets, reading a book, although if you were to ask her what happened in the last few chapters you would receive an absent blink with the book placed on the table.

 They are _hers_. Her family, her love, her children. Her _children_. She starts absent-mindedly rocking in the chair, the book left open and long forgotten in her lap as her hands lace together over the worn, yellowed pages and her eyes having drifted to intently watching the three interact in their sleep.

 Clarke occasionally sniffles or mules gaining her an answering whine from both Serenty and Adgar, who will sometimes curl further into the blonde's warmth or wake up, drearily look around, move to a more comfortable position and then promptly fall back to sleep.

 This is her family, her little dysfunctional family and by god, if they were to be taken away from her the Earth will suffer the consequences.


End file.
